AfghanNews.net – “Have Your Say”

During the last couple of days more than 100 people have died as a result of violence in various provinces in Afghanistan. The Afghan authorities have once again accused Pakistan in playing an active role in backing Taliban to destablise the already delicate situation in Afghanistan. On the other hand, Pakistani officials denied the accusations leveled by Afghanistan. The current offensive by Taliban has shown the vulnerability of situation on the ground. Dramatic increase in suicide bombings has increased fears that situation in Afghanistan will be similiar to that in Iraq in a couple of months.

What is your opinion about the recent attacks in Afghanistan and do you agree that future of Afghanistan looks more gloomly then ever before?

It seems that Abdul Rahman, the man charged with converting to Christianity, will be released from jail tomorrow. The presiding judge has handed back the case to the attorney-general because of gaps in the evidence. The Afghan government has come under enormous pressure to release the accused as soon as possible.

Please let us know about the way this case has been handled.

Increasing international pressure over the case of Christian convert Abdul Rahman is forcing the Afghan government to play a careful balancing act between its Western allies and religious conservatives at home.

What is your opinion about this whole drama? Do you think that Afghan government will carry out the death punishment if Abdul Rahman is convicted by the court?

President Hamid Karzai dropped Dr. Abdullah Abdullah from his new proposed cabinet as foreign minister. He was offered another post in the cabinet which he refused to accept. Dr. Abdullah Abdullah is the second powerful figure – after General Fahim, former defence minister - from Northern Alliance to be sidelined by Karzai within one year. It is still unclear why Dr. Abdullah is removed from his post and there has been no official comments on this issue.

What is your opinion about Dr. Abdullah’s removal and what are the complications for the present setup in Afghanistan?

During the last couple of days we hear alot about the so-called “list of terrorists” supplied by Afghan President to his Pakistani counterpart. According to Pakistani officials the list is outdated and a number of accused are already death. Afghan officials are accusing Pakistan that they are helping Talibans to fight and destabilize the current status quo in Afghanistan. While on the other hand Afghanistan is accussed by Pakistan for turning a blind eye to Indian activities in Afghanistan to fuel the current situation in Balochistan.

This game of accussing is going on for more than a year and it seems that relations between the two countries is heading towards a confrontation. What do you think about these accusations and is there a way to solve this problem in a friendly way.

Last week a three day international conference held in London to discuss the progress made by Afghanistan during the last couple of years and to ask for more help in the coming five years. Various countries pledged around US$ 10.5b for the next three to five years.

Around US$ 12.4b has been contributed over the last four years but this huge amount of money did not improve the livelihood of common people who are still facing economical and social hardships. Many people believe that a large chunk of US$ 12.4b aid did not even reach the needy people which deserved it.

What is your opinion about this issue and how do you think that the new aid pledge should be spent in the coming years?

During the last few months we have tried on a couple of occasions to start a discussion forums on AfghanNews.net but due to lack of interest it never turned to be an active forum that we hoped to be. This time we are trying once again and we hope that our valued visitors will try to let other people know about their views related to Afghans, Afghanistan and topics related to this subject.

We hope that our valued visitors will respect the point of views expressed by others and dicussions are conducted in a decent, friendly and informative atmosphere.

Thanking you all and wish you a nice time while being here.