04:12 msk, 3 september 2010

Central Asia news: Афганистан

Why does Afghanistan need railroad?

Business Why does Afghanistan need railroad?

04.12.2009 09:14 msk

At the end of October of 2009 the state-owned railroad company of Uzbekistan became the contractor of the Hairaton-Mazar-i-Sharif railroad. At the end of November the project was approved by Uzbek government. Despite modest length of the line – only 75 kilometers – this is strategic project, Afghanistan has been waiting for many years. The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is still one of those very few Asian countries that do not have railways. This project is vitally important for Uzbekistan: in the future the country may become biggest cargo transit center in the region, backed up by emerging strong partnership between Tashkent and Washington DC.

Eight years of ISAF operations in Afghanistan. Who are the winners?

Analytics Eight years of ISAF operations in Afghanistan. Who are the winners?

09.10.2009 16:29 msk

The Enduring Freedom operation was launched in the night of October 7, 2001. International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF), operating under NATO, have been present in Afghanistan for already 8 years. ISAF are represented by 39 countries, both inside and outside NATO. Ferghana.Ru addressed the experts on Afghanistan with simple questions: «What did America gain in this war? What was the benefit for EU? Is there any benefit for Afghanistan?»

Arkady Dubnov: The Afghanis tolerate armed occupiers but it is getting increasingly more difficult to do so

Interview Arkady Dubnov: The Afghanis tolerate armed occupiers but it is getting increasingly more difficult to do so

02.06.2009 11:26 msk

US mission to NATO invited six European journalists from Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, Iceland, Georgia, and Russia to Afghanistan. International observer Arkady Dubnov (Vremya Novostei) represented Russia. On his return to Moscow, Dubnov told Ferghana.Ru what he had seen on the route from Kabul to Kandahar to Bamian and back to Kabul. The expert said that in his opinion, the ultimate moment when failure of the Americans' efforts would become final was close: resistance was too strong, Western values were too alien, and so were the Americans themselves. Even the loyal Afghanis wanted to see the last of the Western occupiers, Dubnov said.

Analytics An update on Moscow's position with regard to negotiations with Taliban

17.11.2008 13:24 msk

The latest reports from Afghanistan where the irreconcilable opposition reverted to violence and terror indicate that the country may find itself back in civil war. Russia's stand on the matter is analogous to the American and comes down to the simple axiom: whenever the enemy refuses to surrender, he ought to be destroyed. Does it apply to Taliban? Moscow based Vremya Novostei approached Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for comments.

Analytics Bush to Shift Troops to Afghanistan From Iraq

09.09.2008 11:33 msk

President George W. Bush will announce Tuesday a gradual redeployment of U.S. military personnel from Iraq to increasingly violent Afghanistan, with as many as 4,500 new troops slated to deploy to Afghanistan by January. The additional forces will be charged with defeating the resurgent Taliban and protecting the Afghan populace. The troop increases in Afghanistan will be accompanied by the withdrawal of approximately 8,000 military personnel from Iraq by February. Additional troops may leave Iraq in early 2009 if "the progress in Iraq continues to hold," according to an advance copy of a speech Mr. Bush will deliver at Washington, D.C.'s Fort McNair Tuesday morning.

Interview Ahmad Wali Masoud believes that investment in Afghanistan may be quite profitable

02.07.2008 12:16 msk

Experts admit to being baffled by what is happening today in Afghanistan. Many militias and clans are battling with each other, foreign military contingents are spread throughout the country, the economy is thoroughly crime-ridden, and other factors contribute to a very complicated scenario. Also, a powerful religious presence and the absence of a nationwide center of power have their impact on the general state of affairs. Those experts who met on the Issyk-Kul shores of Kyrgyzstan in early June did their best to sort out the mess. The forum they attended was entitled "Afghanistan, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Eurasian Security and Geopolitics". The following is an interview with Ahmad Wali Masoud, one of the organizers of the conference and the brother of the legendary Ahmad Shah Masoud, who led the Northern Alliance troops against the Talibs (Source: Ekspert Kazakhstan. Translated by Ferghana.Ru).

Interview Valery Ivanov: "We have built 142 base objects in Afghanistan for its economy…"

22.06.2008 17:21 msk

Is there a future of modern Afghanistan? Can Russia make a “comeback” to this country? What mechanisms of Russia and Shanghai Cooperation Organization could have to participate in the processes of settlement in Afghanistan and revival of its economy? Valery Nikolaevich Ivanov - a valid State Councilor of Russian Federation of the third rank in retirement, member of the Board of directors of the Russian-Afghan Business Council. Interview was prepared by Ferghana.ru Information Agency jointly with Radio Free Dolina ("The Valley of Peace or Disputes").

Update on the international conference «Afghanistan, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Eurasian Security and Geopolitics»

Analytics Update on the international conference «Afghanistan, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Eurasian Security and Geopolitics»

18.06.2008 18:31 msk

An international conference entitled, "Afghanistan, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Eurasian Security and Geopolitics," took place in the village of Choktal on the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul on June 11-12. Experts, politicians, and scientists from Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Russia, Germany, Great Britain, and Italy were present. Here is an official report on the conference, issued by its organizers.

Analytics US AF serving Afghani drug dealers

28.11.2007 12:20 msk

Afghani drugs are as much a pressing problem of the international community as the global warming is. Existence of the problem is recognized by everybody but a solution to it is not known. An international conference on the subject took place in Kabul in late October. According to the UN report presented there, Afghani opium reaching the international market accounts 93% of the global production.

Human Rights Tajikistan: hostage situations on the border with Afghanistan are commonplace occurrences

08.10.2007 12:50 msk

Mamadsharif Hotamov, villager of Shohon (Shuroabad district, Hatlon region of Tajikistan), was kidnapped at 23.00 on September 25. A group of armed people broke into Hotamov's house and took him away. Unfortunately, episodes like that are commonplace occurrences in the border districts of Tajikistan - and have been commonplace for at least a decade.

Another record poppy crop in Afghanistan expected this year

14.09.2007 16:18 msk

The data on the rapidly growing production of opium in Afghanistan this year stirred a worldwide wave of criticism of the United States and Great Britain for the patent inefficiency of their struggle with drugs in this country.

Business President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai will visit Turkmenistan

04.07.2007 09:57 msk

President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai will visit Turkmenistan later this week. Karzai and his host, President Gurbankuly Berdymuhammedov, will discuss the trans-Afghan gas pipeline project.

Islamic movement leader Yuldashev's right-hand men arrested in the northern part of Afghanistan

02.07.2007 10:46 msk

Afghani National Security Directorate reported arrests of Kari Abdul Kadir and Kari Hekmatulla in the northern part of the country.

Afghanis in Russia: Close-knit international diaspora 100,000 men strong

Migration Afghanis in Russia: Close-knit international diaspora 100,000 men strong

27.06.2007 11:52 msk

Ferghana.Ru news agency has already run some stories on establishment and functioning of Central Asian diasporas in Russia (see Immigration). Here is another story, on Afghani diaspora, in an interview with Mr. Gulam Mohammad, Fatherland Business Center President.

President of Afghanistan is through with "dangerous operations" of foreign contingents

25.06.2007 11:13 msk

President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai came up with unprecedented criticism of the United States and NATO. Almost 230 noncombatants perished in operations mounted by foreign contingents in this country in 2007 - almost as many as in all of 2006. More than 90 civilians including women and children died in the last ten days.

Other news

Media headlines

Eurasianet Uzbekistan Celebrates Independence Day, 02.09.2010

RFE/RL Kyrgyz, Uzbek Talks On Release Of Kyrgyz Officers Unsuccessful , 02.09.2010

Forum 18 TAJIKISTAN: "Your children will become extremists and terrorists", 02.09.2010

OpEdNews Talibanization: The Whole Problem Is the Gawadar Port and Trade Route, 02.09.2010

RFE/RL Kyrgyz-Uzbek Talks Held On Release Of Kyrgyz Border Guards, 01.09.2010

Long war Journal Senior Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan commander targeted in northern Afghanistan, 30.08.2010

AP Silk's dark side: Uzbek kids made to grow cocoons, 28.08.2010

Guardian Kyrgyzstan: The void in Asia's heart, 27.08.2010

OpenDemocracy Beware of meddling in Kyrgyzstan!, 27.08.2010

New York Times Legacy of Torture, 27.08.2010

Eurasianet Tashkent Promoting Inter-Ethnic Unity, But Strengthening Security Forces Just in Case, 27.08.2010

AP German prosecutors charge suspected Islamic terrorist after extradition from Pakistan, 26.08.2010

Express Tribune India-Afghanistan talks wind up, 26.08.2010

RFE/RL Taliban Kill Nine Police In Afghan North, 26.08.2010

Reuters Karzai aide in corruption probe linked to CIA, 26.08.2010

Canadian Press UN agency makes unusual Pakistan aid appeal, while Washington pushes for transparency, 26.08.2010

Foreign Policy How to leave Afghanistan without losing, 25.08.2010

Washington Post 25 Islamic militants escape from Tajik prison, 23.08.2010

Euronews Osh protesters defy Kyrgyzstan government, 20.08.2010

Reuters Kremlin-led security bloc to hear Kyrgyz appeal, 19.08.2010

Forum 18 UZBEKISTAN: "The Court decided so", 19.08.2010

VOA Intimidation of Uzbek Minority Continues in Kyrgyzstan, 17.08.2010

RFE/RL Kyrgyz Officials Seek Release Of People Detained In Uzbekistan , 17.08.2010

Telegraph Osh mayor pushes ahead with plan to rehouse Uzbeks, 16.08.2010

Global Voices Kyrgyzstan: Nationalist agenda raises amidst new rallies , 16.08.2010

Eurasianet Mixed Marriages in Kyrgyzstan Strained by Ethnic Violence, 16.08.2010

Platts Afghanistan finds new oil field, holds 1.8 bil barrels: ministry, 15.08.2010

AFP Uzbek group attacks Afghan police, three dead, 15.08.2010

Long War Journal ISAF continues to ID 'foreign fighters' in Afghanistan, 15.08.2010

Eurasianet Uzbekistan Weekly Roundup, 15.08.2010

HRW Uzbekistan: Activist Hit With New Sentence, 14.08.2010

AFP South Kyrgyzstan forces may have used torture: UN rights, 20.07.2010

Eurasianet Reconstruction Plan To "Ethnically Cleanse" Osh, Uzbeks Fear, 20.07.2010

RFE/RL Kabul Wants To Change The Way Foreign Aid Is Spent , 20.07.2010

Ex Ponto Als Oezbeekse mahalla's in rook opgaan, 17.07.2010

Euronews Roza Otumbayeva: “We have the nation waiting to reconstruct itself”, 17.07.2010

CNN Thousands remain displaced after Kyrgyz violence, 16.07.2010

Eurasianet Tashkent’s Response to Kyrgyz Crisis Boosts Karimov’s Image, 16.07.2010

Asia Times Russia has reasons to stay its hand, 15.07.2010

New York Times In Southern Kyrgyzstan, Uzbeks Become Targets of Police Abuse, 15.07.2010

VOA A Relative Calm In Kyrgyzstan, 13.07.2010

Guardian Beware dictators bearing gifts, Naomi, 05.07.2010

RFE/RL Getting To The Roots Of Resentment In Kyrgyzstan, 05.07.2010

New York Times Uzbeks Accused of Inciting Violence in Kyrgyzstan, 02.07.2010

AP Kyrgyz humanitarian crisis enters new phase, 01.07.2010

Eurasianet The Pentagon Spreading Wealth in Central Asia, 30.06.2010

Moscow Times An Imitation Empire, 30.06.2010

ВВС Gen David Petraeus faces confirmation to lead Afgan war, 29.06.2010

Eurasianet Documents Highlight Problems with Uzbek Corridor of Afghan Supply Route, 29.06.2010

New York Times Kyrgyz Voting Appears Calm, 28.06.2010