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KABUL: Second Vice-Pres-

ident Mohammad Sarwar

Danesh inaugurated the Fifth

National Urban Conference ex-

hibition, at the Kabul Poly

Technic University, a statement

from his office said Monday.

The exhibition with the

motto of ‘City; a Bed for Devel-

VP Danesh opens 5th NationalUrban Conference exhibition

opment and Evolution is part of

the fifth national urban confer-

ence, showing various local

products, including handicrafts,

mine products, agriculture prod-

ucts, lands and city masterplans

from the country’s 34 provinces

in 62 booths, according to the

statement.

The conference, this year,

was held under three pivots

such as exhibition, scientific

pivots and proprietary, said the

statement. Vice-President Sar-

war Danesh addressing the par-

ticipants, said the results and

investigations of the fifth na-

tional urbanization conference

would be laid at the disposal of

researchers, universities and

scientific centers in written, in

order to help researches inves-

tigations.

“The more the structure of

urbanization and supplying ur-

ban service are important, the

more the culture of urbaniza-

tion is the key factor of the city

and urban life,” said the vice

president.

Holding of the fifth nation-

al urbanization conference, was

aimed at providing the ground

for better familiarity, as the

most important economic and

urbanization evolution cycle,

creation of proper opportunities

for exchange of views, securing

relations among scientific and

executive and offering modern

research achievements relating

to the urban precincts.

The Kabul Times

KABUL: First Vice-Presi-

dent, General Abdul Rashid

Dostum, met with the country’s

Head of National Directorate of

Security, Mohammad Masoum

Stanikzai and a number of Fary-

ab provincial commanders at his

office, on Monday, his office said

in a statement.

Both sides exchanged views

Militants controlled areasshould be retaken, VP Dostum

on security situation of the

northern zone of the country,

particularly Faryab province

and emphasized on retaking the

areas under the Taliban control,

said the statement.

First Vice-President Gener-

al Dostum instructed for deploy-

ing the armed men affiliated to

the provincial commanders,

who are fighting the enemy of

the people of Afghanistan, in

the framework of the local po-

lice and asked the local com-

manders to make their rows

stronger and firmly stay against

the enemy of the people of Af-

ghanistan, the statement said.

The Kabul Times

KABUL: President Moham-

mad Ashraf Ghani met yester-

day with Pakistan Foreign Min-

ister Shah Mehmood Qureshi

at Gul Khana Palace. In the

meeting, both sides discussed

bilateral relations, the Afghan-

led and Afghan-owned peace

President Ghanimeets Pakistan FM

process and next steps in intra-

Afghan negotiations, consider-

ing cooperation of regional and

world countries as significant in

this regard. According to anoth-

er report, acting minister of for-

eign affairs Salahuddin Rab-

bani in meeting with Pakistan

foreign minister said that rela-

tions between Afghanistan and

Pakistan was improving and con-

sidered Qureshi’s visit to Kabul

as sign of improvement of rela-

tions between the two countries,

stressing on direct talks between

Afghanistan government and the

Taliban group. In the meeting,

Pakistan foreign minister con-

sidered peace and stability in

Afghanistan as beneficial for Af-

ghanistan, stressing on further

efforts of his country for bring-

ing peace to Afghanistan.

The Kabul Times

KABUL: Acting minister of

information and culture Hasi-

na Safi visited Bakhtar News

Agency and heard its works and

problems.

In the visit to the agency,

director of BNA Khalil Menawi

briefed related to history of the

agency, activities of domestic

and foreign news departments,

website and various sections of

the agency.

Meanwhile, Menawi by

Minister Safi stresses better system forreforms within MoIC departments

pointing to achievements, works

and problems facing the agency

considered lack of sufficient sal-

aries and concessions, limited

possibilities, lack of transport

vehicles and lack of reporting

equipment as key problems of

the agency, asking the ministry

of information and culture for

attention in this regard.

Acting minister of informa-

tion and culture Hasina Safi

praised officials and employees

of Bakhtar News Agency for

their works, saying BNA was the

only news agency in Afghani-

stan.

Stressing on making better

system for bringing reforms in

relevant departments of the

ministry of information and

culture, Safi added necessary

steps would be taken for ad-

dressing problems of the respec-

tive agency.

The Kabul Times

Pakistan’s rolecrucial in

Afghan peaceprocess

KABUL: A 4,000-year-silverbowl with golden patterns,which was smuggled to Britain,returned home and submittedto the National Museum onMonday, BNA reported.

The looted valuable artifact,which was exhibited in the Lon-don Museum, has been re-turned to the country and hand-ed over to the director of Na-tional Museum, by the Turya-lay Gheyasi, head of cultural re-lations of the ministry of for-eign affairs, at the presence ofFazel Sancharaki, the deputy topublications ministry of infor-mation and culture, said theagency.

The deputy information andculture minister spoke on theoccasion and hoped all Afghan-istan’s historical and ancientrelics of the country to be re-

Valuable historical object returned to National Museum

turned home, with the effortsof the country’s political agen-cies abroad.

While submitting the his-torical object, Baba Khan Asla-mi, the first secretary of the

country’s political agency inLondon, briefed about it and saidthe artifact was seized from thesmugglers, by the British policeat an airport near London andtaken to the London Museum

for more investigation, accord-ing to the agency.

Experts branded the objectbelonged to Afghanistan, withits history returning to theBronze era and had a back-ground of nearly 4, 000-year ,the agency added.

The bowl has 12 centimeterslength and a capacity of twoglasses of water, made from ofthe country’s northern biggestsilver mine. Most of the coun-try’s ancient relics have beensmuggled out of countries, dur-ing the last civil wars and partof them have been recently re-turned to the country andlodged at the National Muse-um. This is while a vehicle tak-en to country before 70 yearssubmitted to the National Mu-seum earlier last week.

The Kabul Times

Kabul deeply saddened bytsunami in Indonesia

KABUL : Kabul on Monday

voiced its deep shock over the

loss of precious lives in a tsuna-

mi that battered Indonesia two

days back.

The Ministry of Foreign Af-

fairs in Kabul extended sympa-

thies and condolences to the

Indonesian government and

people over the death and de-

struction triggered by Satur-

day’s disaster.

Before the grief expressed

in a statement from the minis-

try, Chief Executive Abdullah

Abdullah tweeted: "Deeply sad-

dened by the losses and damage

caused by the tsunami in Indo-

nesia.

“Our thoughts and prayers

are with the victims, their fam-

ilies, government and people of

Indonesia," said Abdullah, a

former foreign minister.

The toll from the tsunami

touched off by a volcanic erup-

tion has climbed to 281 dead and

1,016 wounded, according to

media reports.

The Kabul Times

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Tuesday, December 25, 2018

Editorial

Twitter.com/thekabultimes

THE KABUL TIMES

Quoting western media,

some times before and simulta-

neously with Abu Dhabi meet-

ing, local media reported that

beside other issues in that meet-

ing, the issue of formation of

interim administration with the

participation of Taliban and

current government was draft-

ed by Taliban negotiators and

they had asked the US negotia-

tor that the leader of the inter-

im administration must be ap-

pointed by Taliban. But later on

this issue was rejected by Tali-

ban and the US chief negotia-

tor also strongly denied it and

said that such an issue has nev-

er been discussed.

Whereas the foreign media

Interim government to pushAfghanistan towards crisis

who released this report enjoy

particular reputotion and posi-

tion and its unlikely to publish

such an issue without scrutiny

and access to sources. Taking

into account the background

such as Bonn conference and

establishment of interim ad-

ministration with the partner-

ship of the then political move-

ments and parties some experts

believe that the issue of inter-

im administration was dis-

cussed somehow during these

talks, but due to possible reac-

tions, has been ignored for the

moment or denied.

Some political analysts have

also drafted such a plan and ex-

pressed opinion that it could be

a road in the direction of peace

restoration in Afghanistan.

Nevertheless the idea of for-

mation of interim administra-

tion is not adaptable with our

present conditions and current

realities of our society. Our to-

day’s situation frankly differs

from the conditions in 2001 in

which the participants of Bonn

Conference had agreed on in-

terim administration which lat-

er became an introduction to

formation of Afghanistan legal

government. At present Afghan-

istan is ruled by a lawful gov-

ernment based on the constitu-

tion which was approved in the

constitutional Loya Jirga, which

has been officially recognized

by absolute majority of the

world countries and interna-

tional organizations including

the UN. This government rep-

resents the Afghan people at the

global arena and has signed in-

ternational comentations on be

half of Afghan people and since

2001 has been an active and pos-

itive member of the internation-

al community, while before the

Bonn conference Afghanistan

lacked a lawful and national

government too. The Afghan

people have voted to it and in

all these years, sustained

countless sacrifices for its pro-

tection and safeguarding, here-

after they are ready to every

devotion. The Kabul Times

Pakistan foreign minister

Shah Mehmood Qureshi has

started his visit to regional coun-

tries. Qureshi paid a visit to

Kabul on Monday and briefed

Afghan leadership on recent

efforts for peace and reconcili-

ation in Afghanistan and ap-

prised them on efforts Pakistan

was undertaking for bringing

synergy among other regional

and international stakeholders

to facilitate an intra-Afghan di-

alogue.

While being accompanied

by the foreign secretary and oth-

er senior officials of Pakistan’s

ministry of foreign affairs,

Qureshi will also visit Iran,

China and Russia. The visit

came after two-day negotiations

held last week between US spe-

cial peace envoy to Afghanistan

ZalmayKhalilzada and repre-

sentatives of the Taliban group

in United Arab Emirates (UAE).

According to reports, issues

of mutual interest, progress on

Afghan peace and reconcilia-

tion process and economic and

trade issues were discussed be-

tween Pakistan delegation led

by foreign minister and Afghan

side.

Pakistan FM visits Kabul tofacilitate intra-Afghan dialogue

Role of Pakistan in connec-

tion with Afghanistan peace-re-

lated issues has become much

highlighted. After the three-way

meeting between foreign min-

isters of Afghanistan, Pakistan

and China, the country claimed

that they would provide pave-

ment for the third round of di-

rect meeting between US offi-

cials and representatives of the

Taliban group in UAE.

Besides detailed exchange

of views on important areas of

bilateral cooperation, views will

also be exchanged on the fast-

changing regional and interna-

tional environment. Recent de-

velopments concerning peace

and reconciliation in Afghani-

stan would also be discussed

during these meetings.

“Pakistan has always main-

tained that the solution to the

conflict in Afghanistan lies in

an Afghan-led and Afghan-

owned peace process. Interna-

tional community’s recent con-

sensus to adopt this as the guid-

ing principle to resolve the 40-

years old Afghan conflict, vin-

dicates Pakistan’s long-held

view,” a press release from Pa-

kistan foreign ministry has

said.

Afghanistan government

has always asked Pakistan to

organize its policy based on

mutual interests and stop sup-

porting terrorist groups having

safe havens in Pakistan. There

is a vision that Pakistan wants

this time to cooperate with Af-

ghanistan in counter terrorism

as well as maintaining peace

and stability in the country.

In consideration to impact of

tensions in relations between

Afghanistan and Pakistan on re-

lations of Islamabad with the

region and the world, Pakistan

by adopting wisely policy can

improve better relations with

Kabul, or gap in relations be-

tween the two countries will

further increase.

Afghan experts believe that

peace talks with the Taliban

group have regional and world

dimensions; therefore, only

world pressures on Pakistan can

convince the country to help in

Afghan peace process. Although

Pakistan has pledged to pave the

way for intra-Afghan dialogue,

the Taliban group has not shown

readiness to hold direct talks

with Afghanistan government so

far.

LailumaNoori

The “war on terror” failed to bear the desired result and the mili-tary mission of the foreign forces was reduced to advisory role since-December 2014 and the Afghan forces remained in first line of thecombat against the insurgents.Despite of the sacrifices given in waron terror and establishing peace and stability in the country, the mil-itary action revealed not todiminish militancy in the country.

To mitigate insurgency, both Kabul and Washington sought to bringthe Taliban to negotiating table via Islamabad, which was believed tocarry much weight in this regard. Meanwhile, Pakistani officials prom-ised to use their “leverage” with a view to persuade the Taliban outfitto hold negotiations with Afghan government.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and his dele-gation met with President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani in Kabul hereyesterday, Presidential Palace said in a statement. The two sides dis-cussed Afghanistan-Pakistan relations, bilateral issues, Afghan-led andAfghan-owned peace process and next steps after intra-Afghan talks,the statement said.

In this meeting, the importance of regional and world countries’cooperation was highlighted in the peace process of Afghanistan andPakistan’s Foreign Minister Qureshi said he had productive meet-ings with Afghan leaders on peace affairs.

“I’ve had productive meetings with the Afghan leadership. The peaceprocess is making positive headway. Next stop is Iran. Regional con-nectivity and a collective outlook are essential for progress,” Qureshitweeted.

The most important factor at this juncture of time is that Pakistanmust pursue its commitments with true intentions. Without Pakistan’ssincere support, no peace would be achieved in the country and it hasto understand that without combating the terrorism jointly it is im-possible to defeat it in both countries as they share a lengthy and po-rous border.

As president Ghani’s words, Afghans are seeking a long-seatedpeace; peace between Afghanistan and Pakistan and peace among thegovernment and armed opponents. There is an unexpected hostilitybetween the two countries, an issue which our friends in Pakistan havealso accepted, but in reaching to a prosperous future, it is neededtore-new efforts and joint cooperation, because militancy threats Afghani-stan, Pakistan and the whole region.

It is also important that both the countries must leave behind thepast and renew their efforts in this regard, as President Ghani says,“In order to reach to our future goals, we have to overcome the past.But going forward requires a movement and joint cooperation againstthe threats.”

Meanwhile, the regional stakeholders are of the belief that mili-tary deal will not tackle the unmitigated insurgency urging Pakistanto play its crucial role in Afghan peace process and push Taliban fortalks with Afghan government.

Therefore, if the neighboring country willing to see peace and sta-bility in Afghanistan, then it should push the group and for negotia-tions and shun those religious schools that training militants and sui-cide bombers.

There is no doubt in the fact that terrorism is now a regional andglobal problem and all the countries in the region and that of the worldmust support Afghanistan’s peace process, as it has been suffering themost from its loathsome consequences.

Pakistan’s role crucial inAfghan peace process

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Twitter.com/thekabultimes

In the course of history of

Afghanistan violence against

women is one of facts and bitter

realities and non-indulgent

that is existed always and in

some cases is changed into a

family tradition.

It is seen mostly that during

hearing of women problems and

challenges faced by her, the men

regard it as a shame and easily

the same remained unheard.

This causes the head-band of

family slowly descending and

finally causes a crisis. Love and

sentiments replace by violence

and cruelty.

The first members who taste

the bitter flavor of this behave

are the offsprings of the family

that instead of happiness and

kindness, they face with grim

faces of parents.

Violence against women has

historical roots in Afghanistan

and in the course of various

changes of the country appeared

in various figures.

Within recent one hundred

years, the situation, social and

legal position enjoying from

much ups and downs that had

their own impacts in their po-

litical destiny.

With taking the throne by

Amanullah Khan, in 1919 the

advocate king of revival of Af-

ghanistan constitution in Loya

Jirga of Paghman, he allotted

some articles of constitution to

social women freedom and

rights.

Premature marriages, hav-

ing multi-husband and expan-

sion of foreign languages and

compulsory education of wom-

en were mentioned in it.

Some articles of constitu-

tion were impressed by world

approach and the west consid-

eration that had no harmony

with the situation ruling in Af-

ghanistan in that time.

So, these reformation faced

with serious reaction of spiri-

tual figures of Afghanistan that

had much influence in the soci-

ety of this country.

Acceptance of forbidding of

multi-husbands was in contra-

diction with the instruction of

holy Quran as well as learning

of foreign languages was unac-

ceptable by religious scholars.

Finally, as a result of their

Roots of violence againstwomen in Afghanistan

measures, Amanullah Khan

was forced to cancellation and

adjustment of these two articles

and learning of religious teach-

ings prioritized over learning of

foreign languages.

King Amanullah began re-

moval of veil from his lady and

following it, he proclaimed that

after this, the women have no

right to enter into bazaar and

society along with veil and fe-

male also should dressed with

uniform and instead of giving

salutation, they should take

their hats from their heads.

Amanullah Khan failed to

execute his new laws and he

only did to reconcile his refor-

mation with traditional society

of the then Afghanistan.

The measures adopted by

Amanullah Khan in connection

with social situation of women

were exaggerated and had no

considerable achievement be-

hind.

The religious scholars stood

against reformation of Amanul-

lah Khan and the formers also

didn’t definite the social and

legal position of women from

Islamic point of view.

Islamic behave with women

in Afghanistan is always stylis-

tic, extremist and stems from

definition and wrong off-take

from religious jurisprudence.

Illegal fanaticisms were im-

posed on them and rule of Tali-

ban spured more the oppression

of women in Afghanistan and

the latters deprived from all

their civil, social and political

rights.

The doors of seminaries

and schools were closed before

women and they changed into

internal guardians of their fam-

ilies.

After collapse of Talban re-

gime and establishment of dem-

ocratic system in the country,

the definition of social life of

women was the issue that

should be executed seriously.

Adopting of measures in

this connection placing the con-

dition comparing the past to

positive change.

Referring of girls to schools

and universities, creation of

educational programs for giving

awareness to women about their

rights and law of non violence

against women created some

optimism in the connection.

One of the measures adopt-

ed during the rule of Hamid

Karzai in regard with social

stance of women was ratifica-

tion of convention for removal

of all forms of discriminations

against women that realization

of its provision is one of impor-

tant goals of ministry of women

affairs.

The important achievement

in the connection is ratification

of law of non violence against

women that based on 79th arti-

cle of constitution of Afghani-

stan and no.16th resolution of

council of ministers of Afghan-

istan is ratified by the then pres-

ident in 4 chapters and 44 arti-

cles.

In 2013, this law sent to par-

liament for approval that some

of its articles were belong to the

removal of compulsory marriag-

es and children situation.

As the violence against

women has its roots in our tra-

ditions that have wrong off takes

from religious teachings, com-

pilation of its legal articles had

their own problems and regard-

ed in contradiction with ground

reality of the society.

Creation of every kind of law

of forbidding of violence against

women should be in accord with

religious jurisprudence.

Anyway, removal of every

kind of violence against women

as the verses of holy Quran and

Islamic narrations confirm is

necessary.

The issue of divorce and its

daily increasing, forces thou-

sands of children to problems

such as deprivation from litera-

cy and in long run this causes

the process of human resources

be threatened and led the soci-

ety into a non haltering crisis.

The events occurred within

recent years such as stonning,

Kangaroo courts, beatings,

compulsory marriages and rape

in Afghanistan displayed bar-

baric picture against women.

Unfortunately, the thought

of extremism and petrified still

existed before social life of

women that wants serious fight-

ing in the connection.

The Kabul Times

Recently, in a decree issued

by the presidential palace, two

former heads of National Direc-

torate for Security (NDS) Asa-

dullah Khalid and Amrullah

Salih have been appointed as

the acting ministers of interior

and defense.

Welcoming the presidential

decree, a number of lawmakers

and experts call the step effec-

tive in ensuring security and a

serious message to the Taliban.

These changes have been

appeared while the presidential

elections is about to be held in

near future from one side and

peace efforts have been inten-

sified from the other.

A military expert, Atiqullah

Amarkhil says that currently

clashes are ongoing in a num-

ber of provinces and however,

the insurgents are willing to

peace talks, but besides, they

have also intensified their at-

tacks.

Appointment of Amrullah

Salih and Asadullah Khalid as

key security officials can be im-

perative to ensure security and

bring reforms in security enti-

Lawmakers, experts’ views onreplacing of senior security officials

ties, besides, these two figures

are expected to be severely the

opponents of the Taliban and

Pakistan, he added.

This comes as the presiden-

tial office says that the govern-

ment has planned to bring a se-

ries of reforms in the adminis-

trations’ leadership in which

selection of Amrullah Salih and

Asadullah Khalid as acting

ministers of interior and de-

fense is part of it.

Calling introduction of

these two figures important to

security entities, lower house of

the parliament says that they

can play key role in Afghani-

stan’s security situation im-

provement.

Right now, Afghanistan

needs such experienced individ-

uals, besides, the ministries of

interior and defense were in

need of some changes, they

stressed.

A lawmaker, Akbar Qasemi

said, “Considering current sit-

uation of Afghanistan, the se-

curity entities need military

leaders and the Afghan securi-

ty forces need professional min-

isters whom to be familiarized

with war methods.”

He believes that Amrullah

Salih and Asadullah Khalid

whom had earlier been work-

ing in security entities are ca-

pable enough to manage the

ongoing war.

Political experts say if essen-

tial authorizations are given to

these two candidate ministers,

positive changes would appear

in the country’s security situa-

tion, an action that would be a

good message to all citizens.

The step taken while 7000

US forces are expected to leave

Afghanistan in upcoming

months.

Experts believe that the in-

ternational community should

assure the newly appointed fig-

ures that they would continue

their financial assistances to

Afghan security forces even if

the peace process followed with

positive results, because, Af-

ghanistan needs professional

forces as the government

achievements’ protection is also

depended to them.

Suraya Raiszada

Water shortages worsen inAfghanistan as drought persistsAfghans are facing water

shortages due to the persistent

drought that has ravaged the

country this year.

In many places, including

the capital Kabul, local resi-

dents have to carry containers

to fill at water points several

times a day.

''Water used to be available

24 hours every day, but now it is

only available three to four

hours. More than 500 families

gather here to get water during

these few hours,'' said Sayed

Ali, a local resident.

In the past year, the amount

of precipitation dropped by more

than 50 percent compared with

that of average levels in most

parts of Afghanistan. Sixteen

out of 34 provinces are suffer-

ing from drought. This year is

even worse. La Nina has had a

devastating effect on the plant-

ing season, with a rain, snow

and sleet deficit of 70 percent

prevailing across most of the

country. In the 20 provinces

most affected by the drought,

nearly 15 million people rely on

farming, livestock or labour op-

portunities in agriculture. Of

these, an estimated 2 million

people will become severely

food insecure due to the drought.

According to the Afghani-

stan National Disaster Manage-

ment Authority, about two mil-

lion Afghans have been affect-

ed by the drought. Years of con-

flict have damaged the country's

infrastructure, making the sit-

uation even worse.

''Afghanistan lacks infra-

structure. The construction of

water projects including dams

has been slow. So when water

flows past Afghanistan, there is

no way to store it and just let it

flow right into neighbouring

countries,'' said Aslam Sayas,

the deputy director of Afghani-

stan National Disaster Manage-

ment Authority. Local media say

the drought has caused a fall in

crop production in the western

and northern parts of Afghani-

stan, and people in these areas

are on the edge of famine.

The total displacement due

to the drought has now reached

275,000 people. Aljazeera

Pakistan and strategy ofinfluence in Afghanistan

While nowadays Pakistan is

boosting on sincere cooperation

in the direction of Afghan peace

and Islamabad authorities ges-

ture before the public opinion

as well as the western officials

that have managed to bring Tal-

iban representatives to talks

table and have sat them face to

face with US special envoy. But

certain reactions of government

and secret services of that coun-

try indicate that as it was pre-

dicted and has always been in

this way that Pakistan govern-

ment has been exploiting the

phenomenon of peace talks in

favor its goals and strategy.

Based on the believe of cer-

tain aware sources, if the Tali-

ban representative say that they

do not talk with Afghan govern-

ment, or prior to everything the

timetable for foreign troops

withdrawal from Afghanistan

should be prepared or accord-

ing to some media reports that

the Taliban proposed formation

of an interim administration

and Taliban would introduce its

leader but later denied it, all

and all are advice and instruc-

tion of Pakistan to Taliban

aimed to prolong the talks pro-

cess or involvement of the oth-

er side.

The Pakistani authorities

specially the I.S.I networks

force the Taliban to extend the

talks process with taking up of

impractical and irrelevant is-

sues so either the opposite side

to submit to their demands or

become fed up and give up the

talks.

Experts believe that due to

its colonial nature before Af-

ghanistan and the region, ex-

ploiting its proxy forces, Paki-

stan intends to extend it influ-

ence into the region and maxi-

mamlly take advantage avail-

able opportunities for imple-

mentation of its short and long

term goals, otherwise in no cir-

cumstances and at no price the

Pakistanis allow Taliban and

other proxy elements to enter

talks deliberately and agree on

an effective and reliable solu-

tion. Instead they try to advice

and instruct Taliban negotia-

tors to pave the way for ensur-

ing of Pakistan interests and

goals.

Through exerting influence

on Taliban and their negotia-

tors the Pakistani authorities

want to set up their domination

on our country’s situation, ex-

tend it into our system and par-

ticularly plan to make further

investments in the province

along the Durand Line.

Seeking their strategic

depth into our country, the Pa-

kistani rulers have always been

attempting to exploit the limi-

tation of India’s interests ac-

cording to their opinion and

extension of their trade towards

Central Asia and even Russian

Federation.

Pakistan is thirsty of Cen-

tral Asia energy sources and is

in urgent need of markets for

selling of its products and

strongly believe that if a weak

and pro-Pakistan government

rule Afghanistan, she would

better and easier achieve and its

goals, would either have access

to energy sources of central Asia

or make economic transactions

through Afghanistan in over-

seas territories.

Taliban are Pakistani proxy

force in war and politics. Due to

their undeniable and frank in-

fluence and domination on Tal-

iban, Pakistan exploits them

simply in the direction of their

goals and strategy.

According to political ana-

lysts, Pakistan is playing indeed

with a card in the name of Tali-

ban and it has been proved that

in no case Pakistan gives au-

thority of talks and negotiation

to this faction and neither a

Taliban element is allowed to

negotiate deliberately and with-

out permission of Pakistan spy

agency with others. As prior to

this, every Talban who wanted

to take a step without Pakistan

permission and instruction on

war and peace, either was killed

or jailed.

The western negotiators are

required to notice this thrick of

Pakistan government and spy

agency and should know that the

practice of these two bodies are

different in word and action and

both lack essential sincerity.

Pakistan intends to deceive

the west, appears in the dress of

help and assistance in peace

process and end of war but in-

stead discussing impracticable

issues, to prolong the talks and

pave the way further for their

penetration into Afghan admin-

istration.

The Kabul Times

New technical training sec-

tion has been opened at Afghan-

Korea Vocational Training

Center (AKVTC) as the center

has increased further efforts to

provide better professional

trainings to Afghan youths in

capital Kabul.

A Memorandum of Under-

standing (MoU) for establish-

ment of the section has been

signed between officials of min-

istry of labor, industries associ-

ation and the AKVTC.

In opening ceremony of the

new technical section at the

center held the other day, min-

ister of labor, social affairs,

martyrs and disabled Faizullah

Zaki expressed hope that grad-

uates from the section could

address technical problems of

manufacturing factories in the

country.

“Ministry of Labor, Social

Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled

in coordination with AKVTC

will first train students for tech-

New technical training sectionopened at AKVTC

nical and administrative sec-

tions as electricity, computer

and developed parts of facto-

ries,” Zaki said, adding through

the section many people will

probably get employment.

According to officials to the

Afghan-Korea Vocational

Training Center (AKVTC), cur-

rently hundreds of Afghan

youths are engaged in receiv-

ing various vocational and pro-

fessional sections at the respec-

tive center.

“Training process of Afghan

professional workers and stu-

dents is underway at the center

based on demand of market,”

director of AKVTC said, adding

nearly 8,000 students including

female workers have graduated

from the center since 2005.

Meanwhile, deputy of Af-

ghanistan Chamber of Com-

merce and Industries Khanjan-

Alokozay says more technical

and professional workers of the

country’s manufacturing facto-

ries fare foreign citizens, but

hoping graduates of the cen-

ter’s technical section will re-

place most of them.

Nevertheless, a number of

Afghan youths graduating from

Afghan-Korea Vocational and

Training Center or from high-

er education institutes are fac-

ing with unemployment prob-

lem.

“Employment circumstanc-

es are critical in Afghanistan as

most of those youth graduating

from vocational centers even

higher education institutes are

employed. For example, I’ve

graduated from medicine, but I

am unemployed,” a medical fac-

ulty graduate Habibullah said,

asking the government to

launch uplift projects so that the

people can get job.

In the meantime, a Kabul

resident Asmatullah told The

Kabul Times: “Receiving voca-

tional training is a need for

youth in particular those who

are unemployed.”

He added that by receiving

training in computer, tailoring,

carpentry, electricity and other

technical sections Afghan

youths can get good-pay jobs and

resolve their problems, asking

the government of the Republic

of Korea to expand such train-

ing centers in all provinces of

the country so that those living

in remote provinces can receive

such vocational training.

Afghan experts also believe

that ministry of labor, social af-

fairs, martyrs and disabled has

the responsibility to provide

employment facilities to Afghan

youths, adding the ministry

should further work in collabo-

ration with donor countries to

launch short-term and long-

term training courses for Af-

ghan youth so that they can re-

ceive vocational and technical

courses and through this they

can get jobs in the country.

Shukria Kohistani

Tuesday, December 25, 2018

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Tuesday, December 25, 2018Provincial News

Air Forces target terrorists’hideouts; 6 rebels killed

TARINKOT CITY: Nearlysix anti-government militiaswere killed during an air attackcarried out by Afghan air forcesin southern Urozgan province.

The terrorists have been tar-

geted and killed by Afghan airforces in relevant areas ofTarinkot city the provincial cap-ital of the province.

Top ANA commander for thesouth of the country told BNA

correspondent, six militantswere killed and their hideoutcompletely have been destroyedfollowing the attack.

The insurgents were busy

on organizing a series of ter-

rorists and destructive activities

that targeted and killed, the

source added.

The Kabul Times

ANDSF discover, foil 33various type of mines

KANDAHAR CITY: AfghanNational Defense and SecurityForces (ANDSF) succeeded todiscover and defuse 33 round ofdifferent type of mines in south-ern Kandahar province.

The mines have been dis-covered and neutralized by Af-

ghan security personnel in vi-cinity of Spin Boldak district ofthe province.

Senior commander of Af-ghan National Army in thesouth of the country said BNAreporter, the mines had beenplanted by Taliban militants in

crowded areas of Spin Boldakdistrict.

No one was arrested yet, butefforts are underway to identi-fy and capture the culprits of themine plantings, the source add-ed.

The Kabul Times

Seven civilians martyred in roadsidemine blast in Ghazni

GHAZNI CITY: At least sevencivilians were martyred due toroadside mine blast in centralGhazni province the other day.

Mohammad Aref Noori spokes-man for Ghazni governor toldBNA reporter, the civilians waswas moving from Ghazni prov-

ince toward Paktia province thattheir vehicle was hit by a roadside mine in Shakhog region,Deh Yak district of Ghazni prov-

ince. Including women and chil-dren seven civilians were mar-tyred following the blast, Noori

added. The Kabul Times

Nine loyalists of Taliban,ISIS-K terrorist groups killed

JALALABAD CITY: At least9 loyalists of Islamic State forIraq and Syria-Khurasan andTaliban were killed during re-cent conflicts in eastern Nan-

garhar province.The terrorists have been tar-

geted by Afghan security forcesin relevant areas of Koot, DuorBaba and Sarkh Road districts

of the province. Spokesman ofNangarhar governor, AtaullahKhogyani told BNA reporter, asa result 9 fighters of Taliban andISIS-K were killed. The insur-

UNHCR provides assistance tovulnerable Afghans as harsh

winter arrivesKABUL: The United Nations

High Commissioner for Refu-gees (UNHCR) has providedwhat it said a life-saving assis-tance to some 150,000 of themost vulnerable people aimedat helping them survive theharsh winter, a statement fromthe organization said Monday.

“Afghanistan’s harsh win-ters mean that heating is a mat-ter of survival for people inmany parts of the country. Dur-ing the 2017-2018 winter sea-son, 33 out of 34 provinces wereaffected by extreme weatherconditions including heavysnowfall, avalanches and othernatural disasters,” said thestatement.

This winter, as part of coor-dinated efforts to provide emer-gency assistance to vulnerablepeople displaced by drought andconflict as well as vulnerablehost communities, recent re-turnees and refugees, the UNRefugee Agency (UNHCR), to-gether with the Ministry of Ref-ugees and Repatriation (MoRR)and a number of partners, aredistributing cash assistance tofamilies in all 34 provincesacross the country, according tothe statement.

As of 24 December 2018,over 58,000 of the most vulner-able have been reached as partof the annual winterization pro-gram. In total, UNHCR plans tosupport more than 150,000 Af-ghan returnees, internally dis-placed persons (IDPs), refugeesand members of host communi-ties across the country.

As part of the program, UN-HCR and MoRR are now dis-tributing assistance to some17,500 vulnerable Afghans in

Kabul. “Provision of support inthe form of unconditional cashassistance, approximately $200,for identified beneficiaries willhelp keep them dry and warmwhile long-term sustainablesolutions for protracted dis-placement are pursued,” saidFathiaa Abdalla, UNHCR’s Rep-resentative for Afghanistan.

From 1 November, UNHCRand MoRR, together with theirpartners, have jointly identifiedthose among the Afghan popu-lation who are most vulnerableto the winter conditions, includ-ing female heads of householdand families without income. Itis expected that some 30,000 in-dividuals in the Central region,including Kabul, will receivesupport to help them get throughthe harsh winter months. UN-HCR has already provided win-terization assistance to morethan 17,000 individuals in theNorth and North-Eastern prov-inces, over 33,000 in the West-ern region, and nearly 6,500 inthe Eastern region.

A total of 620,000 people areestimated countrywide to be inneed of assistance this winter.While humanitarian agenciesand the Afghan Governmentwill be able to provide over420,000 individuals (60,000 fam-ilies) with winterization assis-tance, there remains a gap of atleast 28,000 families still inneed.

Within this program, UNH-CR and its partners will supportsome 60,000 refugees from Pa-kistan along with the commu-nities hosting them in Khostand Paktika provinces to ensurethey are prepared for the win-ter. Cash-based interventions

provide social safety nets for thewinter and help ensure thatfamilies can priorities fueltypes according to the local mar-ket. It has become increasinglyclear that cash-based interven-tions play a key role in assist-ing people who have been dis-placed.

Additionally, as lead agencyof the Emergency Shelter andNon-Food Items Cluster thatsupports IDPs across the coun-try, UNHCR and its partners, incoordination with the AfghanGovernment, are also distribut-ing over 15,000 tents to drought-affected IDPs as part of a coor-dinated humanitarian re-sponse.

The distribution of family

tents to some 480 displaced fam-

ilies in Herat is ongoing while

it is expected to begin in

Badghis province this week.

These efforts are aimed at ad-

dressing the immediate critical

humanitarian needs of more

than 21,000 drought affected

families currently displaced

throughout the Western region.

Most of the displaced families

currently live in displacement

sites in Herat City and in sites

scattered in and around the

provincial capital of Badghis,

Qala-e-Naw.

So far this year, a total of

316,470 people have been veri-

fied as being displaced by con-

flict in 2018, according to

OCHA’s Displacement Track-

ing System (DTS). Overall, the

number of people displaced so

far this year is nearly 35 per-

cent less than the same period

last year of 485,310.

The Kabul Times

gents were busy on organizinga series of terrorist and destruc-tive activities that targeted andkilled, Khogyani added. TheKabul Times

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Tuesday, December 25, 2018Facebook.com/thekabultimes

A local cooking school is of-

fering classes for Afghan wom-

en who want to learn about Ca-

nadian food.

Run out of Mary Jane's

Cooking School, Flavours of

Home is a 12-week course that

covers everything from how and

where to buy ingredients, to safe

food handling practices, to de-

tailed recipes.

"That's an important part of

settlement, and to feel like you

belong as a Canadian," says

Mary Jane Eason, owner of

Mary Jane's Cooking School.

"If you go to a new country you

want to know how to cook their

food."

Eason has been running the

school for almost 20 years. It's a

registered charity funded by

The Winnipeg Foundation.

By trade, she's a trained nu-

tritionist, so healthy, organic

and environmentally friendly

cooking is a main tenet in all of

her classes. And Flavours of

Home is no exception.

Eason runs the class along-

side Ariana Yaftali, who immi-

grated from Afghanistan 15

years ago.

Yaftali is also the founder

of the Afghan Canadian Wom-

en's Organization. Earlier this

year, she approached Eason with

the idea for the class. She says

she thought it would really help

some of the women she works

with to settle in to a new com-

munity here in Winnipeg.

"Some of the women have

been here for years, and others

only two months," says Yaftali.

"They can gather and learn

from each other, and from Mary

Jane.

"They've come from differ-

ent backgrounds, social class,

even education, ethnic back-

ground. But what we do, we pro-

mote that if you're open to learn

and share, then you are most

welcome."

Yazidi refugee family cel-

ebrates Eid with solemn memo-

ries of loved ones

'It's comforting for them':

Program pairs refugee children

with culturally similar dolls

and stuffed bears

Yaftali says food can be a dif-

ficult part of the transition to

Canada for some Afghans. Many

of the ingredients they're used

to aren't available here and

Winnipeg doesn't have any Af-

ghan restaurants.

She says this class gets to

the heart of that difficulty.

"With the class the women

will know what to look for in

the grocery store and how to ask

for help finding it," says Yafta-

li.

Another big part of the class

is the language component.

Many of the women are still

learning English so the instruc-

tors make the recipes into mini

English lessons.

Eason instructs, while

Yaftali translates to Farsi or

Dari, and they hand out the pa-

per recipes in English.

Yaftali says it took a few

classes for some of the women

to catch on to the methods used

in Canadian cooking.

"They are all skilled cooks

in their own right but they

aren't really used to recipes,"

says Yaftali. "Afghan cooking

is about instinct."

She says she learned to

cook by watching her mother

and other elders. For those who

learned that way, exact mea-

surements can be a new con-

cept.

But that hasn't stopped any

of the women in the class from

jumping right in.

Tamama Afzaly, one of the

students in the class, says she's

having a lot of fun learning new

recipes — especially the ones

that involve baking.

Afzaly came to Canada al-

most two years ago. She does

most of the cooking for her hus-

band and their seven-year-old

daughter.

"[My daughter] likes cook-

ies and cakes; she likes the

sweet things," says Afzaly.

She says it's been harder to

get her daughter to eat some of

the other dishes she brings

home from the class but she's

going to keep trying because all

of the recipes are healthier than

what she learned to cook grow-

ing up in Afghanistan.

"That's what I like about

Canadian food," says Afzaly.

"In Afghanistan we don't use

like low salt-oil. Canadian food

is so healthy."

Hoping to keep the class go-

ing

The 12-week course came to

an end on Dec. 16, but they have

one more event planned to cap

the whole thing off.

Eason and Yaftali will hold

a completion ceremony for the

women and their families.

They'll gather at the school on

Sunday to hand out certificates,

share what they learned during

the course and enjoy some

homemade food.

"It's become a gathering

place for the women," says

Yaftali.

She says the women have

formed their own little commu-

nity and she hopes they can all

keep that going.

As for the class itself, she

wants to run it again in the new

year. Yaftali says she hopes to

get even more Afghan women

joining the next time around.

Eason says the school plans

to submit an application to the

Winnipeg Foundation for more

funding. She wants to open the

program to marginalized groups

throughout the city. She says

ideally, they'll be able to offer

classes to more than just new-

comers. CBC

Cooking class helps Afghanimmigrants feel at home in Canada

Top French court orders review ofAfghan interpreter's asylum request

France's highest adminis-

trative body, the Conseil d'Etat,

has ordered the authorities to

reconsider the visa request of

an Afghan man, who has re-

ceived threats from the Taliban

after working as an interpreter

for the French army.

The interpreter took his

case to French court after his

visa application was rejected in

2015.

French authorities have

been given a week to ensure the

safety of the interpreter and his

family by relocating them to a

secure part of the Afghan capi-

tal, Kabul, while his request is

reconsidered over the next two

months.

Caroline Decroix, vice-pres-

ident of a group of former Af-

ghan interpreters, said the de-

cision could provide a lifeline

for other former aides to the

French army who face threats

at home because they are con-

sidered traitors.

"The ruling by the Conseil

d'Etat gives the right of protec-

tion to aides and assistants. That

means all those whose requests

have been refused will have the

right to appeal."

More than 800 Afghans were

employed by the French army

up until its withdrawal in 2012.

Only 173 Afghan temporary

recruits have obtained visas to

come to France. RFI

The Second International Photography CompetitionTehran ICH Centre

Intangible Cultural Heritage and the YouthIntroduction

The Regional Research

Centre for Safeguarding Intan-

gible Cultural Heritage in West

and Central Asia, Under the

Auspices of UNESCO (Tehran

ICH Centre) works towards

achieving the following goals in

the central and west Asian re-

gion:

- to promote the Convention

for the Safeguarding of the In-

tangible Cultural Heritage

(ICH) - known as the 2003 Con-

vention - and its implementa-

tion in west and central Asia;

- to promote public aware-

ness and expert capacities in the

field of Intangible Cultural

Heritage;

- to strengthen capacities

and cooperation in the region

for identifying, inventorying

documenting and studying In-

tangible Cultural Heritage to

contribute to its safeguarding;

- to promote peace and

friendship, synergy, and sus-

tainable development in the re-

gion;

The geographical area as-

signed to Tehran ICH Centre

includes 24 countries. These

countries in alphabetic order

are: Afghanistan, Armenia, Az-

erbaijan, Bahrain, Georgia,

Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan,

Kuwait, the Kyrgyz Republic,

Lebanon, Oman, Pakistan, Pal-

estine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia,

Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turk-

menistan, the United Arab

Emirates, Uzbekistan, and Ye-

men.

In alignment with the above-

mentioned goals and to attract

various demographics, especial-

ly the youth, to the concept of

ICH, and its expressions and

manifestations, Tehran ICH

Centre held its first interna-

tional photography competition

with the subject of “Intangible

Cultural Heritage in its Con-

text”.

What is Intangible Cultur-

al Heritage?

The “Intangible Cultural

Heritage” (ICH) means the

practices, representations, ex-

pressions, knowledge, skills –

as well as the instruments, ob-

jects, artefacts and associated

cultural spaces that communi-

ties, groups and, in some cases,

individuals recognise as part of

their cultural heritage. This In-

tangible Cultural Heritage,

while being transmitted from

generation to generation, is

constantly recreated by commu-

nities and groups in response

to their environment, their in-

teraction with nature and their

history, and provides them with

a sense of identity and continu-

ity, thus promoting respect for

cultural diversity and human

creativity.

For the 2003 Convention,

consideration will be given sole-

ly to such Intangible Cultural

Heritage as is compatible with:

- existing international hu-

man rights instruments,

- the requirements of mutu-

al respect among communities,

groups and individuals,

- And sustainable develop-

ment.

Within the framework of

the 2003 convention, only the

part of ICH that satisfies the

below conditions is considered

valid:

- be compatible with exist-

ing human rights instruments,

- adhere to the requirements

of mutual respect among com-

munities, groups and individu-

als

- be loyal to the principles

of sustainable development.

ICH Manifestations

The ICH manifestation can

be categorised to at least five do-

mains:

A- Oral traditions and ex-

pressions: songs, nursery

rhymes, lullabies, storytelling,

word games, work songs, etc.

B- Performing arts: music,

calligraphy, dance, puppet

shows, traditional theatre, etc.

C- Social practices, rituals

and festive events: festivals,

mourning ceremonies, gather-

ings, games, etc.

D- Knowledge and practices

concerning nature and the uni-

verse: traditional medicine, tra-

ditional architecture, tradition-

al navigation systems, tradi-

tional methods of utilising clean

energy, traditional manage-

ment systems;

E- Traditional craftsman-

ship: traditional knowledge and

skills of pottery-making, tex-

tilemaking, woodwork, metal-

work, jewellery-making, resto-

ration, painting, etc.

The History of Photography

Competition

In 2017 Tehran ICH Centre

held its first international pho-

tography competition, titled

“ICH in the Context” in Te-

hran.

In the first round of the com-

petition, 12 countries - Iran,

Tajikistan, Armenia, South

Korea, India, France, Kyr-

gyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbeki-

stan, Turkey, Pakistan, and Af-

ghanistan – participated. After

its initial evaluation, the refer-

ee panel put forward 403 photo-

graphs related to the subject of

the competition to the Secretar-

iat. After a specialised assess-

ment, 55 of the works were cho-

sen for the final stage of the

competition and the exhibition.

Finally, the referee panel rec-

ognised three works as the fi-

nal competition winners who

also received a cash prize. The

referee panel recognised five

works as deserving a certificate

of appreciation.

Subject of the Competition

Tehran ICH Centre will be

holding its second internation-

al photography completion ti-

tled “Intangible Cultural Heri-

tage and the Youth”.

It can be said that as future

generations of bearers and prac-

titioners of intangible cultural

heritage elements, the role of

the youth in the viability of in-

tangible cultural heritage is

such that the survival of the in-

tangible cultural heritage is

dependent on it blending with

the daily lives of the youth.

To accomplish this, the ef-

forts of the present generation,

in transferring intangible cul-

tural heritage to the next gen-

erations and creating a sense of

belonging to the heritage in

young people are essential.

This issue becomes more impor-

tant, given that the youth are

victims of the wave of cultural

homogenization at the nation-

al, regional, and global levels

the in the modern world. There-

fore, by organising this compe-

tition, Tehran ICH Centre in-

tends to attract the attention of

the people, especially the youth,

to the examples and manifesta-

tions of the intangible cultural

heritage as well as encouraging

them to protect and safeguard

their cultural heritage.

Youth receive the intangible

cultural heritage from their

previous generation and trans-

fer them to their next genera-

tions. As stated on the website

of UNESCO, regarding the

“transfer” of intangible heri-

tage: “Safeguarding ICH

means ensuring its viability

among today’s generations and

its continued transmission to

the generations of tomorrow.

Communities and groups of

practitioners and other tradi-

tion bearers everywhere in the

world have developed their own

systems for transmitting their

knowledge and skills, which

unfortunately, depended on oral

methods rather than written

texts”.1 On the other hand,

some experts claim, none of the

manifestations of intangible

heritage, even if repeated, are

identical, and clear signs of va-

riety, colourfulness, and recre-

ation can be seen in them. One

of the most prominent examples

of such manifestations is the

holding of national or regional

celebrations in which the diver-

sity of customs is evident both

in geographical and intergen-

erational levels. Moreover, Ar-

ticles 14 and 15 of the 2003

Convention are clear on the

above. To meet its goals and

duties, and to demonstrate di-

versity, colouration, and recre-

ation of intangible cultural her-

itage, and most importantly the

transfer of cultural heritage to

next generations, Tehran ICH

Centre aims to dedicate its sec-

ond international photography

competition to the subject of

“Intangible Cultural Heritage

and the Youth”.

The works should contain at

least one of the following: ?

Showcasing the presence and

participation of young people in

intangible cultural heritage

manifestations; ? Showcasing

the transfer of the cultural her-

itage element to the next gen-

eration; ? Showcasing diversi-

ty in the implementation or per-

formance or expression of an

element of cultural heritage

among generations; ? Showcas-

ing the participation of girls and

women.

Competition Objectives

1- To promote public aware-

ness on ICH,

2- To attract various groups

and communities, especially

the youth, to the expressions of

the intangible cultural heritage

and its importance in their ev-

eryday lives,

3- To attract the participa-

tion of photography enthusiasts

to help in identification and

highlighting the expressions of

ICH,

4- To create an appropriate

context for documentation of

the expressions of the intangi-

ble cultural heritage,

5- To identify and emphasise

the great role and the impor-

tance of photography in the

safeguarding of ICH.

Contest Participation Con-

ditions and Regulations

- The subject of sent works

must cover the ICH of 24 coun-

tries over the region

- It is free for anyone who is

interested in photography,

whether professional or ama-

teur.

- There no age limitations

for the competition.

- The Secretariat does not

put any limitation regarding

photography tools.

- Size of sent works should

be in the range of 500 kb up to 2

Mb in JPEG format. To display

the selected works at the final

exhibition, participants need to

send their selected photos with

the highest quality to Secretar-

iat.

- Participants need to pro-

vide Secretariat with the expla-

nation about the subject of their

works, as well as the time and

place.

- The sent photos must com-

ply with the regulations of the

Islamic Republic of Iran and

social norms. - Any change that

affects the genuineness of the

photos in anyway results in re-

moval from the competition.

- Evaluation in this compe-

tition will be done on every sin-

gle photo.

- The referee panel will

judge the photo subjects in ad-

dition to the technique.

- Insertion of any signs, sig-

natures, watermarks, dates, log-

os etc. results in the removal of

works from the competition.

- Participants should keep

the raw files of sent works so

that they can be sent to the Sec-

retariat if needed.

- The participants can only

send their entries to the Secre-

tariat, accompanied with their

complete details, using

ich_youth@tichct.ir.

- The Secretariat recognis-

es the sender of the photos as

the owner, and the Secretariat

has no responsibility for any

third-party claim.

- The Secretariat, while ob-

serving the copy rights of the

owners, is permitted to use the

sent works according to its dis-

cretion.

- Women, children and

young people are especially en-

couraged to participate.

- Sending the works and

participation in the competition

is considered the acceptance of

all the competition regulations

including the Secretariat deci-

sions in force majeure matters.

Competition Timeline

- Applicants have to send

their competition entries to

Afghanfolklore1@gmail.com

and ich_youth@tichct.ir, by end

of January.

- The works accepted in the

stage one of the competition

will be in the coming month.

- Final winners will be an-

nounced by early March, and

the awards ceremony will be

held with prior notice.

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Jadi 04, 1397 HS Tuesday, December 25, 2018 thekabultimes.gov.af

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Indonesia on alert as death tollfrom devastating tsunami rises

Rescue workers are steppingup efforts to reach many areasdevastated by a deadly tsunamithat hit an Indonesian strait al-most without warning in thedarkness, smashing into hous-es, hotels and other buildings.

As doctors worked to helpsurvivors and hundreds of peo-ple searched on debris-strewnbeaches along the Sunda Straitfor more victims, Indonesianofficials said on Monday morn-ing that the death toll had risento at least 281, with 1,016 in-jured.

Dozens are missing fromthe disaster areas along thecoastlines of western Java andsouthern Sumatra islands. Thenumbers could increase onceauthorities hear from all strick-en areas.

The waves that swept terri-fied people into the sea on Sat-urday night followed an erup-tion and possible landslide onAnak Krakatoa, a volcanic is-land that emerged from the seain the 1920s.

Government and non-gov-ernment aid trickled in to Pan-deglang, the worst-affected areaon Java's west coast. In Lam-pung, in southern Sumatra,dozens of people have been re-ported dead.

Authorities have warnedresidents and tourists in coast-al areas around the SundaStrait to stay away from beach-es, with a high tide warning inplace until Tuesday.

Al Jazeera's Andrew Tho-mas, reporting from Pantai Tu-maritis, on the western coast ofJava, said officials were wary ofa possible recurrence.

"All Monday morning, therehas been a low rumbling noisethat occasionally peaks from thevolcano some 47km out to seadirectly from where we are," hesaid, reporting from a hotelwhere two young children werefound dead.

"With audio evidence thatthe volcano is continuing toerupt - it has been erupting onand off for months now, andSaturday's wasn't a particular-ly big one - there is a very realconcern that there could be fur-ther tsunamis."

Aljazeera

Yemen’s Houthis violate Sweden agreement,

block UN delegations from entering TaizThe Houthi militias have

blocked a UN delegation fromentering the Taiz province,southwest of Yemen, the Yeme-ni legitimate government re-ported, stating that this was aclear violation of the Swedentalks.

Yemeni Minister of LocalAdministration and chairman ofthe Higher Committee for Re-lief in Yemen Abdul RaqeebFateh, said the militias prevent-ed the UN World Food Program(WFP) delegation from visitingthe province of Taiz, which wasscheduled for Sunday, andblocked its entry into the prov-ince through the eastern portof Al-Houban.

He added that the militiasblocked several vehicles carry-ing aid from entering Taiz, aswell as stopping three UN dele-gations from entering, includ-ing former United Nations Un-der-Secretary-General Stephen

O’Brien. The delegation wasforced to inform local authori-ties in the province that theywould postpone the planned vis-it to next week, passing throughthe temporary capital of Aden.

The Yemeni official stressed

that the siege imposed by themilitias on most of the entranc-es of the Taiz province has beengoing on for more than threeyears, calling on the interna-

tional community to exert allpressure on the militias to liftthe siege on the province andareas under their control.

According to the sources,this action is contrary to theagreement on Taiz, signed by

the legitimate government withthe Houthi militias at the con-clusion of the Stockholm talkssponsored by the United Na-tions recently. Alarabiya

Two Kurdish Syrian Democratic Councildelegations reach Moscow

Two delegations from theSyrian Democratic Council(SDC) arrived in the Russiancapital and are expected to meetwith Russian officials on Mon-day, official sources in Moscowtold Al Arabiya English.

“There are two Kurdish del-egations that arrived in Moscow,one of them is scheduled to meetwith officials from the RussianForeign Ministry on Mondayafternoon,” one of the sourcessaid.

While Kamal Akef, thespokesman of the DiplomaticRelations Center of the Demo-cratic Society Movement, didnot provide any details aboutthe visit, he confirmed to Al Ar-abiya that there is an SDC del-egation in Moscow, adding that“both parties did not reach anagreement yet.”

High-level sources from thejoint presidency of the SDC

pointed out that the delegation,which arrived in Moscow “daysago” is headed by Dr. AbdulKarim Omar, the co-chair of theForeign Relations Commissionin north Syria.

Moscow is the second capi-tal after Paris, which served asa meeting point for SDC repre-sentatives since the WhiteHouse last week announced thewithdrawal of its military forc-es from Syria in a period of 60to 100 days.

Meanwhile, sources saidthat another SDC delegation isheaded to the Russian Khme-imim airbase.

A source from Syrian Obser-vatory for Human Rights hadalso confirmed that “a meetingbetween SDC forces and Rus-sian authorities will happen inthe coming hours in Moscow.”

“The core of these meetingsis to discuss the future of the

area east of the Euphrates Riv-er which poses a threat to An-kara,” he added.

According to the observato-ry, Russia made an offer to theSDC that guarantees thespread of border guards loyal tothe Assad regime along the bor-der with Turkey in areas underits control.

The SDC has not yet agreedto this offer.

According to sources, theSDC rejects posting more re-gime forces, and wants officialborder guards under Russianauspices.

During this trip, SDC rep-resentatives are looking toreach a peaceful solution thatguarantees Turkish forces willnot invade areas controlled bythem east of the Euphrates andwest, as well as Manbij whichTurkey is continuously threat-ening to invade. Reuters

Anti-government protestscontinue in Sudan for fifth day

Protests in parts of Sudancontinued for the fifth consecu-tive day on Sunday, as doctorsprepared to strike over the ris-ing cost of bread and fuel.

At least 10 people have beenkilled since demonstrations be-gan on Wednesday after thegovernment hiked the price ofa loaf of bread from oneSudanese pound to three (about$0.02 to $0.06), exacerbatinggrievances over price rises,shortages of basic commoditiesand a cash crisis.

Protesters are calling forPresident Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who has been in powerfor three decades, to step down.

"Fuel and bread shortagesmay have triggered protestsacross the country, but otherfactors now seem to be helpingto keep them going," AlJazeera's Hiba Morgan, report-ing from the capital, Khartoum,said.

"People seem to be frustrat-ed not just by the economic cri-sis, but by the way the countryis being run and they want to

see change."On Sunday, residents in Um

Rawaba, 200km southwest ofthe capital Khartoum, told AFPnews agency that some 600 peo-ple gathered in the marketchanting, "the people want thefall of the regime".

Protesters burned tyres andbranches in the streets and at-tempted to storm a governmentbuilding before being turnedback by security officials, wit-nesses said.

In Atabara, 300km northeast

of the capital, riot police andplain-clothed operatives de-ployed tear gas against hun-dreds of protesters, a witnesssaid.

Police also fired tear gas onprotesters in Khartoum afterhundreds of protesters blockeda road in the centre of the citylate on Sunday. Earlier in theday, there was a tense calm asschools and universities wereshuttered by a nation-wide gov-ernment suspension and riotpolice equipped with batons andtear gas guarded buildings.

"We were asked to leave thismorning," said a universitystudent from northern Khar-toum.

Sudanese queued outsidebakeries in the city, where ven-dors were refusing to sell morethan 20 loaves of bread per per-son.

"I have a big family and thisbread is not enough for threedaily meals," a local residenttold AFP.

A bakery worker said a se-curity guard standing nearby

was not allowing the shop to sellany more.

Doctors are also set to go onstrike on Monday in the first ofa series of work stoppages, an-nounced by an umbrella coali-tion of professional unions.

In a statement, the coalitionsaid the doctors will continueto deal with emergencies dur-ing the strike, which aims to"paralyse" the government anddeny it much-needed revenues.The coalition also called on cit-izens to continue their streetprotests. Aljazeera

China slams UK, EU ‘dual standards’ on row with CanadaChina has slammed the United Kingdom and the European Union for adopting a double-standard approach towards the issue of

human rights, saying the Westerners voice concerns over Beijing's detention of Canadians while remaining silent on the case of aChinese national arrested in the North American state. Speaking at a news briefing on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman HuaChunying expressed Beijing's “strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition” to comments by Canada, the United States and otherson the detained Canadians. Two Canadians were detained in China earlier this month for what Beijing called engaging in activitiesthat “endanger China’s security.” A third Canadian is also being held, pending deportation for working illegally in the Asian country.

The arrests came after Canadian police detained China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou,on December 1 in Vancouver, Canada. On Saturday, Ottawa said it will maintain a high-level campaign in the coming days to seeksupport from allies as it pressures China to free the two detained Canadians. Presstv

KABUL: Deputy minister ofyouth affairs for informationand culture Dr. Kamal Sadat ina meeting with a number ofrepresentatives of Kabul youthsbriefed related to programslaunched for improvement oftraining and education situa-

President Ghani supportingyouths, Dr. Sadat

tion of Afghan youth, saying fo-cus of leadership of the govern-ment in particular PresidentGhani was on the country’syouths.

Meanwhile, a number ofyouth representing othersspoke and asserted that they

were supporting the economic

and political programs of the

country’s President. They also

enumerated a range of youths’

problems in the field of employ-

ment and training.

The Kabul Times

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