Hamid Karzai

By Marwan Bishara in Imperium on March 28th, 2011
Libya is not likely to emerge as a client state no matter how long the NATO bombardment goes on [EPA]

NATO's political mission "should swiftly identify and nurture a national opposition and plot the path for a post-conflict transition to democracy, probably under UN auspices", or so advises the Financial Times in its lead editorial, "Plotting the Way Forward".

Both the title and the advice are borrowed from a past era: the post-Afghanistan invasion strategy that plotted the nurturing, financing, and supporting of Hamid Karzai's - the former US corporate oil executive - bid for the presidency.

Or another throwback: pre- and post-invasion of Iraq, when London and Washington plotted their invasion as they prepared the Iraq National Congress to hopefully replace Saddam's regime.

By Sue Turton in Asia on March 21st, 2011
Photo by Reuters
Ask Afghan army and police commanders from Kandahar to Bamyan if they are ready to take charge of security in their own province and the answer is always the same: not without better equipment and the support of a proper Afghan airforce.
 
Bamyan is on the list of provinces first for transition that president Hamid Karzai will announce on Tuesday. The colonel in charge of recruitment in this, the country's most peaceful province, told me they had little to defend themselves with should fighters, well entrenched in neighbouring provinces, decide to cross the border.
 
Mark Sedwill, NATO's civilian representative here, had talked about concerns that those first for transition would get an instant bull's eye on the province.
By Al Jazeera Staff in Asia on March 13th, 2011

Follow the latest events around the Pacific Rim after an 8.9-magnitude earthquake off Japan's coast triggered a devastating tsunami. Stay up to date with an all new liveblog for March 15. There, we'll keep you right up to date with the latest developments as they happen. Click here to read it.

Blog: Mar11-12 - Mar13

(All times are local in Japan GMT+9)

By Zeina Khodr in Asia on December 4th, 2010
Photo by Reuters

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani couldn't have been more blunt when he said a few weeks ago that: "Nothing can happen in Afghan peace talks with the Taliban without us. We are part of the solution. We are not part of the problem."

For some in Afghanistan, however, Pakistan is a part of the problem – blocking any attempt to find a political solution to the conflict that doesn't secure its strategic interests at home.

Last February, I was in Kabul when news of the arrest of the Taliban's Mullah Brader emerged. Second-in-command only to the Afghan Taliban’s supreme leader Mullah Omar, his capture in the Pakistani city of Karachi was described as a success.

In Afghanistan, government sources told us that it was a setback to peace efforts.

Mullah Brader was reportedly involved in secret negotiations with Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, albeit without Pakistan’s consent. His arrest was a clear message from Islamabad.

By Kamal Hyder in Asia on November 1st, 2010
Photo from AFP

Just a couple of years ago, Barack Obama appeared as the great hope for a modern America, one that was willing to admit its mistakes and to do some soul-searching as to whether they were fighting a just war in Iraq. It was that debate that perhaps led Obama to become president. He also promised hope for an economy on the brink of ruin. And his promise to bring back the troops from Iraq struck a chord with the voters eager for a change of policy from the Neo conservative-dominated US administration to a more liberal one willing to consider toning down America’s costly foreign wars that have, according to some estimates, crossed the three trillion dollar mark.

Despite that the wars in the far away lands have been showing no signs of a breakthrough - perhaps because of the extra baggage inherited from the Bush administration.

By Al Jazeera Staff in Asia on September 18th, 2010
Photo by AFP

15:20 GMT: That will wrap up our election coverage, as poll workers now shift from collecting vote to counting them.

Turnout is estimated to have been around 40 per cent. It's important to stress that the counting process will be just that - a process. Preliminary results are not expected for several days or weeks, and with thousands of candidates, there will be many challenges to those numbers. The IEC does not plan to release final results until the end of October.

12:25 GMT: The Taliban says on on its website that the group has conducted more than 100 attacks during the day.

12:17 GMT: Some statistics from an IEC press conference currently under way in Kabul: 5,355 polling centres opened today, with 542 either closed or not reporting any results.

By Hoda Abdel-Hamid in Asia on August 18th, 2010
Photo by AFP

Wherever you look around the Afghan capital, Kabul, you see blast walls and gun-totting private security guards. They stand in front of fortified compounds for diplomats, NGOs, international companies.

They are also securing convoys - sometimes driving recklessly and causing chaos on the roads. Whether Afghan or foreigner, private security guards are loathed by many in Afghanistan. Some have been involved in deadly accidents where innocent civilians were killed.

By James Bays in Asia on June 3rd, 2010
AFP photo

More than 1500 community leaders and tribal elders continue to meet in a large tent on the edge of Kabul. The peace jirga, called by president Hamid Karzai, is aimed at trying to push forward the peace process by exploring ways of encouraging Taliban fighters (and possibly their leaders) to renounce violence.

The tribal leaders have now divided into 28 committees, but all are examining the same issues in parallel. The 28 conclusions will then be examined to create an agenda for a full session on Friday.

Critics say the agenda is being tightly controlled, and it is clear that the government already have a detailed peace plan, which they would like to put in place.

The plan, drawn up by Karzai’s internal affairs adviser Masoom Stanikzai, was taken by President Karzai to Washington DC last month; the Obama administration reviewed and accepted the document. NATO and the UN are also pleased with the draft.

By Hoda Abdel-Hamid in Asia on May 18th, 2010
Photo by Reuters

We were on our way to a press conference that Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, was to give. We had just been through the first checkpoint and were making our way to the next one.

I was admiring the roses on the presidential grounds - they were big with vibrant colors and I was thinking 'I must blog about Afghan roses'. But my thoughts were interrupted by a large boom.

We knew right away, this was a big one - and it was.

It happened far away from where we were, but we heard it very loudly and so we rushed back to the office.

As always, reports on the incident were confusing initially.

By James Bays in Asia on April 19th, 2010
AFP photo

In recent days, a deal has finally done between the international community and the Karzai government on the forthcoming parliamentary elections.

The agreement means a clash between parliament, the president and the international powers has been avoided - for now.

Part of the framework for the parliamentary elections, due to be held on September 18th, has been finalised. It goes some way to clarify the rules for this year's poll.

Earlier in the year, the Afghan president had issued a binding decree, which angered both the international community and many Afghan MPs.

It appeared to remove the three international members of the five-person Election Complaints Commission, in effect the "court of appeal" for the electoral process.

Audit of votes

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