February 8, 2008

 

Overview

 

Afghan President Karzai denies tensions with the West as NATO struggles to unite

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is playing down tensions with some of the key nations that are part of the UN-mandated NATO-led forces operating in the country. Speaking at a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Thursday (February 7), Karzai said he was grateful for the contributions the international community had made to Afghanistan. He said, "We appreciate the British role in Afghanistan and the contribution they have made," adding that his remarks about the situation in Helmand province last week were "misquoted." Relations between Afghanistan and Britain became tense last week following Karzai's remarks to the media that British forces had made things worse in restive Helmand and had set security back by as much as 18 months. The Afghan government also reportedly blocked the appointment of Lord Paddy Ashdown as the new UN envoy to the country. Rice told the media that progress was being made in Afghanistan but added that the work was not yet complete. Miliband said the efforts to stabilize Afghanistan were entering a "new phase" that combined military solutions with political and developmental concerns. The surprise visit by Rice and Miliband to the Afghan capital is seen as an attempt to tone down any tensions and to reiterate their commitment to Afghanistan despite conflicts among NATO members over their role in Afghanistan. Separately, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer warned Thursday that failure of the alliance could result in terror attacks in the West. De Hoop Scheffer said, "If terrorism is not dealt with in Afghanistan, the consequences will be felt not just in Afghanistan and the region, but also in London, Brussels and Amsterdam." The comments echo concerns raised in several independent reports that a lack of support could throw the volatile country back into chaos. Several NATO members have lately warned that they will pull their troops out of Afghanistan if other member nations fail to carry their fair share of the burden.

 

Nearly two dozen dead in violence across Afghanistan

More than 20 people were killed in separate incidents across Afghanistan this week. A suicide car bomb attack killed three people and wounded several others in Afghanistan's southeastern province of Ghazni today (Friday, February 8). According to reports, the attack took place near the entrance of an Afghan National Army base in Ghazni when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden vehicle near an Afghan military convoy. The attack killed a soldier and two civilians, including a child under 10. The blast also wounded five soldiers and civilians. Although no one has claimed responsibility for the bombing, Afghan officials suspect Taliban insurgents were behind the attack. The attack came only a day after a similar attack on a NATO convoy in neighboring Khost province wounded three soldiers. Also Thursday, a botched suicide attack in southwestern Nimroz province wounded two civilians. At least 10 people were killed during two separate raids at the homes of two suspected Taliban members in western Farah province on Monday (February 4). Nine suspected Taliban militants were killed in a clash with security forces on Sunday (February 3) in Dehrawud district in southern Uruzgan province.

 

Afghan opium production to remain high in 2008

Opium production in Afghanistan is expected to remain high this year, a UN report concluded. Speaking to a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, at the release of the Afghanistan Opium Winter Rapid Assessment (AOWRA), Antonio Maria Costa, the executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), said the poppy cultivation levels in Afghanistan this year remain "shockingly high." He said this year's poppy cultivation is likely to be similar or slightly lower than that of the previous year's record harvest of 477,000 acres (193,000 hectares). He said despite a decrease in land area under poppy cultivation this year, the overall crop yield is expected to be higher due to favorable weather conditions. According to the AOWRA, nearly a dozen Afghan provinces, mainly in the central and northern regions, are likely to remain opium-free. However, the assessment raises concerns over a sharp rise in cannabis cultivation even in some of the opium-free regions, "giving Afghanistan the dubious distinction of being one of the world's biggest suppliers of cannabis." Costa told reporters, "Afghanistan is becoming a divided country, with clear drugs and insurgency battle lines," adding that drugs were a massive source of income for the Taliban that generated tax revenues from farmers to the tune of US$100 million. Costa urged Afghanistan and its allies to take decisive actions to prioritize security, development, counter-narcotics and good governance, warning "time is not on the right side." The UN assessment came only a day after a World Bank report concluded that more than US$2 billion will be needed over the next 10 years to eradicate drug cultivation from Afghanistan. Afghanistan is currently the world's top producer of opium -- a key ingredient in heroin. It is estimated that more than 90 percent of the heroin on European streets originates from poppies grown in Afghanistan.

 

 

 

Movement

 

2007: UNHCR temporarily suspends the Afghan voluntary repatriation campaign in Pakistan until March 2008 due to seasonal slowdown. (IRIN, Nov-2). Pakistan has reportedly extended the deadline to close Jalozai camp until March 2008. (IRIN, Sep-4). The UNHCR has asked Pakistan to temporarily suspend closure of Jalozai refugee camp in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) that was originally scheduled to be closed on August 31. UNHCR said due to the fast approaching Muslim holy month of Ramadan and winter season, conditions were not conducive for the return of some 100,000 camp residents. UNHCR said any forceful return of these refugees could lead to secondary displacement.

 

Pakistan is to close all Afghan refugee camps by December 2009 and to repatriate all refugees living in the country. UNHCR says it has repatriated over 306,000 Afghan refugees from Pakistan so far this year under its voluntary repatriation campaign. (UNHCR, Aug-10)

 

4.2 million refugees have returned to Afghanistan, and 500,000 IDPs returned home since early 2002. Close to 3 million of the refugees returned from Pakistan. 2.6 million Afghans remain in Pakistan, including one million in 74 long-term camps. About 1.5 million Afghans returned from Iran. Taking into account unassisted returns, perhaps 600,000 to 700,000 Afghans remain in Iran—up to 30,000 are in seven camps.

 

Iran deported some 85,000 unregistered refugees to Afghanistan during April 21 - May 14, 2007. Iranian officials say they plan to initially send back 500,000 of over a million illegal refugees in the country. Earlier this week, Iran said it has reached an agreement with the Afghan government to slow down the pace of expulsions for illegal Afghans living in the country.

 

Some 200,000 Afghan refugees in Pakistan have returned to their homes under the UN-assisted voluntary Afghan refugee repatriation program since it resumed on March 1, 2007, following a seasonal winter suspension. Pakistani authorities said voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees in Pakistan that are without proof of registration (PoR) ended in April, and refugees remaining in the country without PoR are now considered illegal and subject to government action. Repatriation campaign for Afghan refugees with PoR.

 

2006: UNHCR expects to assist 550,000 returnees—400,000 from Pakistan and 150,000 from Iran. However, so far this year only some 60,000 Afghan refugees have repatriated from Pakistan. Unassisted returns are a factor from Pakistan and have been a major contributor to returns from Iran. The tripartite arrangement among UNHCR-Afghanistan-Pakistan is good through 2006. The UNHCR-Afghanistan-Iran Joint Program has been extended into 2007. Repatriation from Pakistan, halted for the winter, recommenced on March 1. UNHCR assisted nearly 9,000 refugees in returning from Pakistan and over 500 from Iran during March. In April 2006, Pakistan closed two long-term camps in NWFP, and two in Baluchistan Province with 250,000 long-term residents. Refugees in Baluchistan can either return to Afghanistan or relocate to Mohammad Kheil camp near Quetta. Refugees in NWFP are moving to Afghanistan or one of ten camps in NWFP—refugees are pushing for a one-year delay.

 

2005 plans called for 400,000 Afghan refugees to return home from Pakistan and 200,000 from Iran, down from an earlier 350,000 estimated from Iran. 453,000 returned from Pakistan. 67,000 from Iran were assisted and over 210,000 returned on their own to Iran for a total of nearly 280,000, and a combined Pakistan and Iran total of 733,000—close to the original projection.

 

2004 plans were for one million to return. Actual returnees were around 850,000, with 385,000 from Pakistan and 460,000 from Iran, including 80,000 spontaneous returns. Pakistan closed camps in South Waziristan and all new camps, with remaining new refugees going to Mohamed Kheil camp in Baluchistan Province.

Emphasis in 2003 was on repatriation from old camps and cities in Pakistan to rural areas in Afghanistan. 70% of returnees from Pakistan were from cities and 30% from camps. Over a third returned to Kabul, another 10% went to other central provinces, and just over 20% returned to each of the north and east. The Southern region received 6% and the Western region 4%. The 2003 peak months were June and July.

 

In 2002 over 2.3 million Afghan refugees returned with 2 million assisted by UNHCR. UNHCR repatriated 1.53 million Afghan refugees from Pakistan, including 125,000 from Baluchistan and 1.4 million from the North West Frontier Province. 82% were from urban areas; only 3% were from new camps. 265,000 refugees were assisted in returning from Iran; and 10,000 refugees from the central Asian republics.

 

 

Afghanistan Relief Efforts: United Nations Coordination Regions

 

 

Central Region

 

 

East Central Region

 

 

Eastern Region

 

 

Northeastern Region