Ron Synovitz is a senior correspondent for RFE/RL.
There are important distinctions between the Taliban regime that ruled Afghanistan until late 2001 and the Al-Qaeda network that carried out the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States. RFE/RL spoke with two experts who explain why those differences remain significant nearly three years after the collapse of the Taliban regime.
Prague, 23 August 2004 (RFE/RL) -- Officials in Islamabad say the recent arrest of 10 Al-Qaeda suspects has prevented a series of terrorist attacks in Pakistani cities that could have killed hundreds of people. They say suicide-bomb attacks were planned against President Pervez Musharraf's residence, Pakistani government buildings, and the U.S. Embassy.
Hamid Karzai (file photo) Prague, 19 August 2004 (RFE/RL) -- A group of candidates for the Afghan presidency have been meeting in Kabul to discuss whether they can unite against Transitional Administration Chairman Hamid Karzai. The meetings are the first public attempt by the candidates to form a unified opposition.
Some 1,500 Afghan government troops are being sent to the western province of Herat in an attempt to end fighting between Governor Ismail Khan's private militia and rival warlords in the area. An advanced team of several hundred troops from the Afghan National Army already has taken control of an air base south of Herat city that was the scene of bloody fighting on 14 August. Meanwhile, there were conflicting reports about continued fighting to the north of Herat today.
India and Pakistan say two days of talks between their interior ministers have enhanced the peace process by allowing both sides to share their views on terrorism and drug smuggling. Both issues are linked to their wider dispute over the divided region of Kashmir. So far, the peace process launched in January has achieved little concrete progress beyond agreements for further talks. But one prominent U.S. expert on South Asia predicts the nuclear-capable neighbors will achieve a major breakthrough as soon as September that will reduce the risk of a nuclear confrontation.
Qanuni could present a strong challenge to Hamid Karzai in Afghan vote Afghanistan's election board has named 18 candidates who have qualified to run in the 9 October presidential election -- including Transitional Administration Chairman Hamid Karzai. But there are allegations that the joint UN-Afghan election board violated the country's election law by allowing private militia commanders to compete.
Hamid Karzai (file photo) Afghan leader Hamid Karzai has signed a decree that threatens tough measures against warlords who resist a nationwide disarmament drive. The decree says militia commanders who do not take part in disarmament will be regarded as renegades and rebels and will be harshly punished. RFE/RL takes a closer look at an issue that is seen as critical to security in Afghanistan ahead of a presidential election scheduled for October.
Each year, scores of women in Pakistan are killed by their male relatives for marrying without the permission of their families. In areas where arranged marriage is a centuries-old tradition, Pakistani women who take husbands without family consent are thought to bring disgrace upon their relatives. In this report, we look at the challenge that "honor killings" present to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf as he tries to present his country as a moderate and progressive Muslim country.
Barham Salih, the deputy prime minister of Iraq's interim government, says Syria and Iraq will set up a special security force to prevent infiltrations by Islamic militants across their 600-kilometer common border. Salih made the remarks on 11 July during a visit to Damascus -- the first to Syria by an Iraqi official since the United States transferred sovereignty to the interim Iraqi government last month. RFE/RL correspondent Ron Synovitz reports on what appears to be the start of a wider effort by the interim government to gain recognition from its neighbors.
The United States says Sudan must stop atrocities by Arab militias in the country's western region of Darfur within days or it could face UN sanctions. UN Security Council ambassadors are to meet later today to discuss a U.S.-drafted resolution that calls for a weapons and travel ban on militia leaders accused of uprooting more than 1 million black African villagers in Darfur. The draft also includes a threat to expand sanctions after 30 days to include members of the Sudanese government unless Khartoum immediately reigns in the militias, known as "Janjaweed." The pressure follows visits to Darfur last week by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Afghanistan's UN-sponsored election commission reportedly decided today that the country's presidential elections will be during the month of Mizan on the Afghan solar calendar, which lasts from 22 September to 21 October. The decision follows two days of meetings between the commission and the Transitional Administration chaired by Hamid Karzai. There still has been no formal announcement about a date for parliamentary elections. But officials say that the election probably will not be held at the same time as the presidential vote, as originally envisioned.
Sixty Bosnian Serb officials have been sacked by Paddy Ashdown, the chief international envoy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, for allegedly helping Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic and other indicted war crimes suspects evade capture. Those removed from office yesterday include parliamentary speaker Dragan Kalinic, who heads the Serb Democratic Party founded by Karadzic, and Interior Minister Zoran Djeric. The move follows a decision by NATO leaders in Istanbul this week not to grant Bosnia and Herzegovina membership in the alliance's Partnership for Peace program because of the failure of Bosnian Serb officials to cooperate with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague. Karadzic was indicted by the tribunal on charges of genocide but has eluded capture for nine years. RFE/RL correspondent Ron Synovitz reports.
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell is threatening Sudan with unspecified UN Security Council action unless the government brings an end to Arab militia violence in the Darfur region. Powell told Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir in Khartoum yesterday that "horrific" acts by the militias have created a humanitarian catastrophe in western Sudan. The United Nations has described the 15-month Darfur conflict as the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Administrators of UN relief groups say up to 2 million people are now in need of food and that a million people have been forced to flee their homes. Washington says between 10,000 and 30,000 people have been killed in fighting between the government-backed Janjaweed militia and black Africans. Sudan's Islamist government denies it supports the Janjaweed. But it also continues to block aid workers, journalists, and independent human rights monitors from getting into Darfur to verify what is happening.
A round of peace talks just completed by the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan is being welcomed on the Asian subcontinent as a good first step toward reconciling the differences between the nuclear-capable neighbors. But as RFE/RL reports, experts in both countries say the two sides will have to remain committed to a spirit of compromise over the disputed region of Kashmir if a permanent peace settlement is to be reached.
Preliminary results show that Serbia's pro-European reformist leader Boris Tadic has defeated hard-line nationalist candidate Tomislav Nikolic in the country's crucial presidential runoff election. Supporters of Tadic's Democratic Party say they hope his victory will confirm the Balkan republic's orientation toward the European Union. But political analysts say the real test for pro-European reforms in Belgrade will be the level of cooperation between Tadic and the minority coalition government of Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica.
Did Afghan militiamen behead captive Taliban? (file photo) Prague, 23 June 2004 (RFE/RL) -- U.S. military officials in Afghanistan say they cannot confirm a claim by a senior allied commander in the Afghan National Army (ANA) that his troops beheaded four suspected Taliban fighters they captured in Zabul Province.
The deployment of some 700 Afghan National Army soldiers to the remote central Afghan province of Ghor reportedly has been delayed until tomorrow. However, the militia faction that seized the provincial capital in mid-June says it welcomes the central government's troops. Meanwhile, the top UN envoy in Afghanistan says steps must be taken quickly to improve security across the country if elections are to be held in September.
Turkish security officials say they have been facing a renewed insurgency by Kurdish separatists since the remnants of the Kurdistan Workers Party declared an end to its five-year-old unilateral cease-fire.
Pakistani President Musharraf has proposed a September meeting with the Indian PM (file photo) The foreign minister in India's newly elected government met for the first time today with his Pakistani counterpart. Islamabad is expressing hope for peace between the two nuclear capable neighbors. But Pakistan says the peace process in the divided region of Kashmir needs to move forward.
Senior UN officials say a humanitarian disaster of catastrophic proportions now appears unavoidable in Sudan's West Darfur region as the government continues to block relief workers and aid from reaching nearly 2 million needy people. In New York, the UN's humanitarian chief is calling for a new UN resolution to prevent future crises from growing into major catastrophes.
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