In Today's Post: Disaster Looms In Backroom Taliban 'Reconciliation' Pact, Says Abdullah

Pakistan to hand over Taliban No. 2, says Afghanistan
Kabul -- The Afghan government said Thursday that Pakistani authorities have agreed to hand over several suspected Insurgents whom Pakistan has taken into custody, including the Taliban's No. 2 commander. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a member of the Taliban's high leadership council, and the other prisoners are "accused of criminal acts" in Afghanistan and will be extradited, according to a statement from the office of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Baradar and other Afghan...

Afghan official: Top Taliban commander in custody
Kabul (AP) - An Afghan official says Pakistani officials have confirmed that they have arrested top Taliban commander Abdul Kabir. Siamak Herawi, a spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai, said Thursday that Kabir was detained a week ago in Pakistan. The arrest of Kabir, who ran Taliban operations in eastern Afghanistan, is part of a recent crackdown on Insurgents in Pakistan. He is one of at least four top Afghan Taliban leaders that Pakistani officials have detained in recent...

Pakistan to hand over Taliban No 2, says Afghanistan
Kabul (Reuters) - Pakistan has agreed to hand over to Afghanistan captured Afghan Taliban number two, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, and other Militants, the president's office said on Thursday. World Pakistan had no immediate comment on the Afghan government's statement on Thursday, but late on Wednesday said Mullah Baradar was being investigated for crimes in Pakistan and would be tried there in the first instance. Three senior Taliban officials were captured in Pakistan this month, including...

Pakistan to hand over Taliban No 2, says Afghanistan
Kabul (Reuters) - Pakistan has agreed to hand over to Afghanistan captured Afghan Taliban number two, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, and other Militants, the president's office said on Thursday. World Three senior Taliban officials were captured in Pakistan this month, including Mullah Baradar -- the highest profile Taliban leader to be held. "The government of Pakistan has accepted Afghanistan's proposal for extraditing Mullah Baradar and other Taliban who are in its custody and showed...

Afghan president takes over election watchdog appointments
Kabul -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai has taken control of a formerly independent body that monitors election fraud, raising concerns that he is reneging on promises to clean up Corruption and cronyism -- a pillar of the Obama Administration's plan to erode support for the Taliban. Karzai signed a decree giving him the power to appoint all members of the Electoral Complaints Commission, a group previously dominated by U.N. appointees that said it uncovered massive fraud on behalf of Karzai in...

Afghan official: Top Taliban commander in custody
Kabul (AP) - An Afghan official says Pakistani officials have confirmed that they have arrested top Taliban commander Abdul Kabir. Siamak Herawi, a spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai, said Thursday that Kabir was detained a week ago in Pakistan. The arrest of Kabir, who ran Taliban operations in eastern Afghanistan, is part of a recent crackdown on Insurgents in Pakistan. He is one of at least four top Afghan Taliban leaders that Pakistani officials have detained in recent weeks....

Afghan official: Top Taliban commander in custody
Kabul (AP) - An Afghan official says Pakistani officials have confirmed that they have arrested top Taliban commander Abdul Kabir. Siamak Herawi, a spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai, said Thursday that Kabir was detained a week ago in Pakistan. The arrest of Kabir, who ran Taliban operations in eastern Afghanistan, is part of a recent crackdown on Insurgents in Pakistan. He is one of at least four top Afghan Taliban leaders that Pakistani officials have detained in recent weeks....

Botched attack by Nato kills 27 civilians
A bungled airstrike in Afghanistan has dealt NATO's effort to woo hearts and minds the third such blow in a week, with Kabul claiming the bombing killed 27 civilians, including women and children. Officials in the Afghan government said NATO planes attacked a convoy of three minibuses carrying 42 people, all civilians, in the mountainous province of Uruzgan on Sunday night, after mistaking them for Taliban Insurgents preparing to attack NATO troops. President Hamid Karzai's cabinet condemned...

The Elephant in Kabul
Recent reports seem to indicate that U.S. officials are optimistic about improvements in Afghanistan since President Obama announced his "surge." Unfortunately, any gains in security are ephemeral. More American troops acting intelligently can provide short-term security, but the long-term prospects are dependent on the powers in Kabul. And they are less promising. Hamid Karzai is running an illegitimate and corrupt government, and unless major changes are made the U.S. is powerless to...

Karzai government rewrites Afghan election law
Kabul, Afghanistan - To the dismay of his political opponents and many of his international backers, President Hamid Karzai has moved to ensure that he can handpick members of an electoral monitoring commission, removing significant United Nations oversight of future Elections. Using a loophole in the Afghan Constitution, the Karzai government unilaterally rewrote the election law, and the president put it into effect by a legislative decree on Feb. 13. Under the new version, the five members...

UN: 346 Afghan children killed in 2009, more than half by NATO
Home Kabul - The United Nations said Wednesday that 346 children were killed in Afghanistan last year, more than half of them by NATO Forces, mostly in airstrikes. "In 2009, 346 children were killed," Radhika Coomaraswamy, the Special representative of the UN secretary general for children and armed conflict, said in Kabul after a seven-day visit the country. She said 131 children were killed in airstrikes, while 22 were killed in nighttime raids by international Special Forces. Taliban...