Afghanistan's mineral wealth has long been seen as a potential source of income that could sustain the troubled nation after US-led international forces withdraw in 2014. Afghanistan has massive bills to pay — particularly the costs of 300,000 soldiers and police that US-led forces are training — but some US experts believe that the country's mineral sector could generate as much as $1 trillion in revenue. Jon Stephenson and Ali Safi report from Kabul for McClatchy Media.
An Afghan-American company that failed to win a multibillion-dollar contract to develop one of Afghanistan's most lucrative mines alleges that the bidding process was riddled with irregularities and that the winning bidders may not be able to meet production targets.
The claims, which were backed by a former senior Afghan mining official, suggest that a potential key source of revenue for the Afghan government — which will be saddled with massive bills after US forces withdraw from the country — could be in jeopardy....Continue Reading....
Monday, February 20, 2012
Firm alleges problems with major Afghan mining contract
Kabul—An Afghan-American company that failed to win a multibillion-dollar contract to develop one of Afghanistan’s most lucrative mines alleges that the bidding process was riddled with irregularities and that the winning bidders may not be able to meet production targets. The claims, which were backed by a former senior Afghan mining official, suggest that a potential key source of revenue for the Afghan government — which will be saddled with massive bills after U.S. forces withdraw from the country — could be in jeopardy. The Afghan-American firm, Acatco, was one of about two dozen bidders that competed for the right to extract minerals from the Hajigak iron ore mine in Afghanistan’s central Bamiyan province. Industry experts have called Hajigak the jewel of Afghanistan’s mining sector, McClatchy Newspapers reported. Contracts for developing four sections of Hajigak were awarded in November — three to a consortium of Indian firms led by the state-owned Steel Authority of India, or SAIL, and one to Kilo Goldmines, a Canadian firm. But Acatco said that these companies had failed to demonstrate they had the funds to carry out the project. “This is against the spirit and the letter of the tender documents,” Acatco president Nasir Shansab wrote last month to Afghanistan’s minister of mines, Wahidullah Shahrani. He added that “those bids should have been disqualified.” Acatco last week asked Afghanistan’s parliamentary complaints commission to investigate the Hajigak contracts, citing illegality and possible corruption in the bidding process. The commission had summoned Shahrani, but Shahrani was departing on an overseas trip and not appeared at the hearing. A former Afghan deputy minister of mines, Mohammad Akram Ghiasi, who resigned two years ago after accusing Shahrani of illegal and unprofessional conduct, told McClatchy in an interview, “If I was still deputy minister of mines, I would not have declared SAIL and Kilo as the winning bidders.” According to company officials, Acatco, based in Herndon, Va., was the only firm among the six that were short-listed in the bidding that had secured the funding to develop Hajigak. Shansab said the company had $1.2 billion in guaranteed funds. By contrast, he quoted numerous international media reports that said the Indian consortium would struggle to raise money for the project. SteelGuru, an Indian publication, quoted SAIL chairman C.S. Verma in a March 2011 story as saying that because of Afghanistan’s high level of risk, “banks and financial institutions will not take the risk to such an exposure. The consortium will not be in a position to raise money on its own, either.” Shansab also claimed that the royalties his firm had offered the Afghan government — $800 million a year for the first five years of operation, and a total of $20 billion over 20 years — were substantially higher than those offered by the winning firms. An internal Ministry of Mines evaluation of the bids that McClatchy obtained appeared to confirm this. The document shows that Kilo would pay from 3.5 percent to 7.5 percent of the per-ton price of iron, while SAIL would pay 5 percent of the per-ton price of steel and 6 percent of the per-ton price of iron, minus the cost of transportation to customers. Acatco was offering to pay 20 percent of the per-ton price of steel. Shansab also claimed that Acatco was the only bidder with a clear start date for production of steel from the mine, as the tender documents required. SAIL’s production would start in eight to 12 years and Kilo, which planned to produce iron, had made no commitment to produce steel, Shansab said. Acatco said it would have begun steel production by July 2015. Afghanistan’s mineral wealth has long been seen as a potential source of income that could sustain the troubled nation after U.S.-led international forces withdraw in 2014. Afghanistan has massive bills to pay — particularly the costs of 300,000 soldiers and police that U.S.-led forces are training — but some U.S. experts believe that the country’s mineral sector could generate as much as $1 trillion in revenue. The awarding of the contracts to a state-led Indian consortium was widely seen in Kabul as a guarantee that India, the economic power in South Asia, would remain committed to Afghanistan after international forces withdraw. Shansab said he had written three letters to Shahrani, the mines minister, detailing Acatco’s concerns about the Hajigak bidding process but hadn’t received a reply. He also wrote an email Feb. 9 to J. Alexander Thier, a senior official who works on Afghanistan and Pakistan at the U.S. Agency for International Development, saying: “This is also an important example of how the natural resources of the poverty-stricken Afghan people should not be squandered — not just for the sake of the people of Afghanistan but also for U.S. policy in view of post-2014 Afghanistan.” Thier and other U.S. officials in Kabul and Washington didn’t respond to McClatchy’s requests for comment.
A spokesman for Shahrani said the minister was not immediately available for an interview. Ghiasi, the former deputy mines minister, said the contracts had been decided “without any transparency.” “We know that one of the ways to rescue Afghanistan and the Afghan people from poverty is to give mining contracts to foreign companies,” Ghiasi said.
“But it must be based on transparency.”— NNI
Pakistan Observer
A spokesman for Shahrani said the minister was not immediately available for an interview. Ghiasi, the former deputy mines minister, said the contracts had been decided “without any transparency.” “We know that one of the ways to rescue Afghanistan and the Afghan people from poverty is to give mining contracts to foreign companies,” Ghiasi said.
“But it must be based on transparency.”— NNI
Pakistan Observer
Friday, February 17, 2012
The Functional Committee of Senate on Human Rights on Human rights violations in Balochistan
Human rights violations in Balochistan
Senate body seeks to ‘rein in’ spy agencies
* Committee expresses concern over poor Balochistan security
* Suggests government hold talks with ‘angry’ Baloch
By Mohammad Zafar
QUETTA: The Functional Committee of Senate on Human Rights on Wednesday expressed its serious concerns over violation of human rights in Balochistan and suggested laws to curb the powers of intelligence agencies.
The committee also expressed its concern over the recovery of mutilated bodies of missing persons, target killings of labourers, doctors, teachers and increasing incidents of kidnapping for ransom in the province.
The committee, which met under Afrasiab Khattak, said laws should be made to curtail the power and influence of security agencies and bring them under the democratic control of parliament.
Senators Surriya Amiruddin, Farhat Abbas and Hafiz Rasheed also attended the committee’s meeting. Balochistan Home Secretary Naseebullah Bazai gave a briefing to committee members. The committee rejected a report of by the Balochistan Home Department about the law and order situation and human rights violations in the province.
Addressing a news conference, Afrasiab Khattak said the committee had met in Quetta to assess the prevailing security situation in the province. “Human rights condition is deteriorating here, particularly with the recovery of mutilated bodies of political leaders and increasing incidents of kidnappings,” he said.
“This act is giving a message that state and its institutions do not consider them [the victims of target killings] their own people. It is common perception here that that secret agencies are involved in enforced disappearances and dumping the mutilated bodies. If it is true, the government should control its institutions since this act is badly damaging the sovereignty of the country.”
Khattak said some militant groups are also targeting labourers and teachers. “The violence in every shape is wrong and unjustified. Those who are involved in these killings are also not well-wisher of Balochistan,” he said.
Committee members said target killings of people from the Hazara community was not sectarian violence rather an act of terrorism, adding that terrorist groups were behind these killings. The committee also sought a report about the murder of police surgeon Dr Baqar Shah – a key witness of the Kharotabad massacre of foreign nationals.
Khattak said committee would pressurise the provincial government to ensure protection of life and property of minorities because the province is also witnessing a sharp rise in the kidnappings of Hindu people. He said the government could not wash it hands of responsibility by stating that “foreign elements” are involved in disturbing peace in the province.
“They should investigate what kind of circumstances have paved the way for foreign elements. People will look towards foreigners when their rights are trampled down by their own people.”
The committee said that the government should hold negotiations with angry Baloch to address their grievances.
“The government should take all Baloch political parties in confidence for negotiations. If it can hold talks with Taliban, what’s wrong in persuading Baloch brothers?” he questioned.
Daily Times
Senate body seeks to ‘rein in’ spy agencies
* Committee expresses concern over poor Balochistan security
* Suggests government hold talks with ‘angry’ Baloch
By Mohammad Zafar
QUETTA: The Functional Committee of Senate on Human Rights on Wednesday expressed its serious concerns over violation of human rights in Balochistan and suggested laws to curb the powers of intelligence agencies.
The committee also expressed its concern over the recovery of mutilated bodies of missing persons, target killings of labourers, doctors, teachers and increasing incidents of kidnapping for ransom in the province.
The committee, which met under Afrasiab Khattak, said laws should be made to curtail the power and influence of security agencies and bring them under the democratic control of parliament.
Senators Surriya Amiruddin, Farhat Abbas and Hafiz Rasheed also attended the committee’s meeting. Balochistan Home Secretary Naseebullah Bazai gave a briefing to committee members. The committee rejected a report of by the Balochistan Home Department about the law and order situation and human rights violations in the province.
Addressing a news conference, Afrasiab Khattak said the committee had met in Quetta to assess the prevailing security situation in the province. “Human rights condition is deteriorating here, particularly with the recovery of mutilated bodies of political leaders and increasing incidents of kidnappings,” he said.
“This act is giving a message that state and its institutions do not consider them [the victims of target killings] their own people. It is common perception here that that secret agencies are involved in enforced disappearances and dumping the mutilated bodies. If it is true, the government should control its institutions since this act is badly damaging the sovereignty of the country.”
Khattak said some militant groups are also targeting labourers and teachers. “The violence in every shape is wrong and unjustified. Those who are involved in these killings are also not well-wisher of Balochistan,” he said.
Committee members said target killings of people from the Hazara community was not sectarian violence rather an act of terrorism, adding that terrorist groups were behind these killings. The committee also sought a report about the murder of police surgeon Dr Baqar Shah – a key witness of the Kharotabad massacre of foreign nationals.
Khattak said committee would pressurise the provincial government to ensure protection of life and property of minorities because the province is also witnessing a sharp rise in the kidnappings of Hindu people. He said the government could not wash it hands of responsibility by stating that “foreign elements” are involved in disturbing peace in the province.
“They should investigate what kind of circumstances have paved the way for foreign elements. People will look towards foreigners when their rights are trampled down by their own people.”
The committee said that the government should hold negotiations with angry Baloch to address their grievances.
“The government should take all Baloch political parties in confidence for negotiations. If it can hold talks with Taliban, what’s wrong in persuading Baloch brothers?” he questioned.
Daily Times
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Red tape delayed search for missing refugee boat
AN ASYLUM-SEEKER boat that is believed to have sunk, drowning 105 Hazaras on board, was left floundering and ''taking on water'' for almost four hours before Australian authorities activated a rescue mission.
Customs and Border Protection officials admitted in a Senate estimates hearing on Tuesday that red tape was the reason for the delay in relaying the distressed boat's co-ordinates to Australia's sea rescue agency.
The boat carrying men, women and children went missing on October 3, 2009, on its way from Indonesia to Christmas Island, after Australian authorities learnt it was in distress. Those on board have vanished and relatives fear they have all drowned....Continue Reading....
Customs and Border Protection officials admitted in a Senate estimates hearing on Tuesday that red tape was the reason for the delay in relaying the distressed boat's co-ordinates to Australia's sea rescue agency.
The boat carrying men, women and children went missing on October 3, 2009, on its way from Indonesia to Christmas Island, after Australian authorities learnt it was in distress. Those on board have vanished and relatives fear they have all drowned....Continue Reading....
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
SAIL-led group to invest Rs 1,500 cr in first phase of Hajigak exploration
Priyadarshi Siddhanta : New Delhi, Mon Feb 13 2012,
The SAIL-led consortium is planning to invest Rs 1,500 crore on its own in funding the first phase of exploration activities in the Hajigak iron ore mines in Afghanistan. The consortium, Afghan Iron and Steel Company (AFISCO), is likely to commence exploration from July this year.
It had, in last November, bagged the bid for mining three iron ore blocks located in the Bamiyan province, 130 km west of Kabul, which together hold an estimated 1.28 billion tonnes of high grade iron ore reserves. SAIL has 20 per cent stake in AFISCO, while NMDC and RINL each hold a stake of 18 per cent. JSW Steel and JSPL hold 16 per cent each, while JSW Ispat and Monnet Ispat & Energy hold 8 per cent and 4 per cent respectively.
“We have already held several rounds of discussions with the Afghan mines ministry and intend to conclude talks by March. We plan to invest Rs 1,500 crore on our own to begin the initial exploration activities in the first phase by July. We have indicated our need for financial support to the government as it is crucial for the project. But one thing must be clear that if we have to proceed ahead with the proposed steel plant, we will definitely need financial support,” the consortium chief and SAIL Chairman C S Verma told The Indian Express.
In a recent letter Verma has asked the steel ministry to apprise the Prime Minister’s Office of the need for monetary assistance. The syndicate will have to spend nearly Rs 50,000 crore for exploring the mine and developing the evacuation infrastructure. The ministry is understood to have conveyed the consortium’s fiscal constraints to the finance and external affairs ministries, but as of now there is no assurance from any quarters in this connection.
Earlier during the course of a high-level meeting, external affairs ministry officials had indicated that the government can consider dipping into 15 per cent of the Rs 5,850 crore corpus set aside for executing developmental projects in Afghanistan. The consortium’s concerns have compounded as Afghanistan is said to be in the negative list of the multilateral funding agencies. The Centre is also exploring the possibility of extending a credit line for the project, sources said.
Indian Express
The SAIL-led consortium is planning to invest Rs 1,500 crore on its own in funding the first phase of exploration activities in the Hajigak iron ore mines in Afghanistan. The consortium, Afghan Iron and Steel Company (AFISCO), is likely to commence exploration from July this year.
It had, in last November, bagged the bid for mining three iron ore blocks located in the Bamiyan province, 130 km west of Kabul, which together hold an estimated 1.28 billion tonnes of high grade iron ore reserves. SAIL has 20 per cent stake in AFISCO, while NMDC and RINL each hold a stake of 18 per cent. JSW Steel and JSPL hold 16 per cent each, while JSW Ispat and Monnet Ispat & Energy hold 8 per cent and 4 per cent respectively.
“We have already held several rounds of discussions with the Afghan mines ministry and intend to conclude talks by March. We plan to invest Rs 1,500 crore on our own to begin the initial exploration activities in the first phase by July. We have indicated our need for financial support to the government as it is crucial for the project. But one thing must be clear that if we have to proceed ahead with the proposed steel plant, we will definitely need financial support,” the consortium chief and SAIL Chairman C S Verma told The Indian Express.
In a recent letter Verma has asked the steel ministry to apprise the Prime Minister’s Office of the need for monetary assistance. The syndicate will have to spend nearly Rs 50,000 crore for exploring the mine and developing the evacuation infrastructure. The ministry is understood to have conveyed the consortium’s fiscal constraints to the finance and external affairs ministries, but as of now there is no assurance from any quarters in this connection.
Earlier during the course of a high-level meeting, external affairs ministry officials had indicated that the government can consider dipping into 15 per cent of the Rs 5,850 crore corpus set aside for executing developmental projects in Afghanistan. The consortium’s concerns have compounded as Afghanistan is said to be in the negative list of the multilateral funding agencies. The Centre is also exploring the possibility of extending a credit line for the project, sources said.
Indian Express
Rights activists demand prosecution for Afshar massacre
Civil activists and a number of residents in central Bamiyan province of Afghanistan following a demonstrations urged that the criminals behind the war crime at Afshar in Kabul should face trial.
Dozens of civilians were killed during the Afshar incident when capital Kabul was witnessing growing civil war violence between the Mujahideen groups.
The organizers of the demonstration urged the judiciary institutions and Human Rights Commission to condemn the massacre of Afghan civilians in Afshar.
Dozens of Afghan civilians were killed 19 years ago while the Mujahideen groups were struggling to take control of the Afshar and its neighboring zones.
The exact number of civilians killed in Afshar is not exactly known so far.
The families of the victims organize a memorial ceremony each year to remember their dear ones who were killed during the incident and urge that the criminals should face trial but the Afghan government and judiciary officials have not taken any steps so far.
The demonstrators following a statement said, the people of Bamiyan and civil activists of this province condemn the massacre of Afshar and urge for the trial of those involved behind the deadly incident.
Officials in Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission said Afshar massacre is one of the main instances of human rights violations in Afghanistan and said they have prepared a documentary of the incident and have prepared a report as well.
Wahidullah Arghoon a human rights advocate said, there are figures in the Afghan government who are preventing the broadcast of the report on Afshar massacre, despite the Afghan government and International Community agreed that the human rights commission should prepare documentaries of the past incidents which took place in Afghanistan.
The program was launched under the name of “Transitional Justice” and was completed by Independent Human Rights Commission of Afghanistan.
According to Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, the documentary work of war crimes which took place during 30 years of civil war in Afghanistan and they have collected various documents in this regard.
However the documentary has not been broadcasted which shows the presence of some influential figures in the Afghan government that prevents the broadcast work.
Khama Press
Dozens of civilians were killed during the Afshar incident when capital Kabul was witnessing growing civil war violence between the Mujahideen groups.
The organizers of the demonstration urged the judiciary institutions and Human Rights Commission to condemn the massacre of Afghan civilians in Afshar.
Dozens of Afghan civilians were killed 19 years ago while the Mujahideen groups were struggling to take control of the Afshar and its neighboring zones.
The exact number of civilians killed in Afshar is not exactly known so far.
The families of the victims organize a memorial ceremony each year to remember their dear ones who were killed during the incident and urge that the criminals should face trial but the Afghan government and judiciary officials have not taken any steps so far.
The demonstrators following a statement said, the people of Bamiyan and civil activists of this province condemn the massacre of Afshar and urge for the trial of those involved behind the deadly incident.
Officials in Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission said Afshar massacre is one of the main instances of human rights violations in Afghanistan and said they have prepared a documentary of the incident and have prepared a report as well.
Wahidullah Arghoon a human rights advocate said, there are figures in the Afghan government who are preventing the broadcast of the report on Afshar massacre, despite the Afghan government and International Community agreed that the human rights commission should prepare documentaries of the past incidents which took place in Afghanistan.
The program was launched under the name of “Transitional Justice” and was completed by Independent Human Rights Commission of Afghanistan.
According to Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, the documentary work of war crimes which took place during 30 years of civil war in Afghanistan and they have collected various documents in this regard.
However the documentary has not been broadcasted which shows the presence of some influential figures in the Afghan government that prevents the broadcast work.
Khama Press
Expert Working Group releases recommendations for Bamiyan Valley, Afghanistan
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Expert Working Group meeting held in Tokyo, releases recommendations for Safeguarding World Heritage property of the Bamiyan Valley, Afghanistan
Following their meeting in UNESCO Headquarters in March 2011, a group of Afghan and international experts working on the safeguarding of Bamiyan (Afghanistan), as well as representatives of the Afghan and Japanese governments and UNESCO, have released a list of recommendations for further activities to preserve the Bamiyan site. The 10th Expert Working Group Meeting for the safeguarding of the cultural landscape and archaeological remains of the Bamiyan Valley World Heritage property was successfully held in Tokyo, Japan from 6 to 8 December 2011, in close collaboration with the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo, and the Afghan authorities.
Building on the previous meetings, officials from the Afghan Government, national and international experts formulated a list of recommendations regarding the future activities for the preservation of the Bamiyan site. They addressed various areas, including archaeology, management and cultural master plan, capacity-building as well as the conservation and interpretation of the Buddha niches and fragments.
The Expert Working Group was formed in 2002 to coordinate all cultural projects in the country entrusted to UNESCO by the Afghan government. This latest meeting aimed to clarify a programme of safeguarding to be implemented in the future Japan Funds-in-Trust Bamiyan Phase IV project, 1,5 million US dollars for the period of early 2012 to mid 2014, and to advise UNESCO and the Afghan authorities on issues related to the conservation of the Bamiyan World Heritage property.
The discussion emphasized the central importance of a cultural development approach in Bamiyan that incorporates and demonstrates the contribution of culture to sustainable livelihoods, education and the promotion of peace in Afghanistan. The meeting also served as a vector for the coordination of international efforts and as a discussion concerning a range of issues that included infrastructure and development plans of the Afghan Government for Bamiyan in the short and long term and the broader spectrum of heritage management challenges facing Bamiyan and its population.
The Bamiyan Expert Working Group also recognised that the current initiatives for the conservation and sustainable management of the World Heritage property of Bamiyan are fully in line with the UNDAF (United Nations Assistance Development Framework) and the Afghan National Development Strategy. The participants considered that the conservation of this outstanding heritage site contributes to promoting peace and fostering sustainable development, for the people of Bamiyan in particular, and in Afghanistan as a whole, by demonstrating the possibility of building sustainable communities by fostering cultural diversity and an appropriate use of the natural and cultural environment.
UNESCO
Following their meeting in UNESCO Headquarters in March 2011, a group of Afghan and international experts working on the safeguarding of Bamiyan (Afghanistan), as well as representatives of the Afghan and Japanese governments and UNESCO, have released a list of recommendations for further activities to preserve the Bamiyan site. The 10th Expert Working Group Meeting for the safeguarding of the cultural landscape and archaeological remains of the Bamiyan Valley World Heritage property was successfully held in Tokyo, Japan from 6 to 8 December 2011, in close collaboration with the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo, and the Afghan authorities.
Building on the previous meetings, officials from the Afghan Government, national and international experts formulated a list of recommendations regarding the future activities for the preservation of the Bamiyan site. They addressed various areas, including archaeology, management and cultural master plan, capacity-building as well as the conservation and interpretation of the Buddha niches and fragments.
The Expert Working Group was formed in 2002 to coordinate all cultural projects in the country entrusted to UNESCO by the Afghan government. This latest meeting aimed to clarify a programme of safeguarding to be implemented in the future Japan Funds-in-Trust Bamiyan Phase IV project, 1,5 million US dollars for the period of early 2012 to mid 2014, and to advise UNESCO and the Afghan authorities on issues related to the conservation of the Bamiyan World Heritage property.
The discussion emphasized the central importance of a cultural development approach in Bamiyan that incorporates and demonstrates the contribution of culture to sustainable livelihoods, education and the promotion of peace in Afghanistan. The meeting also served as a vector for the coordination of international efforts and as a discussion concerning a range of issues that included infrastructure and development plans of the Afghan Government for Bamiyan in the short and long term and the broader spectrum of heritage management challenges facing Bamiyan and its population.
The Bamiyan Expert Working Group also recognised that the current initiatives for the conservation and sustainable management of the World Heritage property of Bamiyan are fully in line with the UNDAF (United Nations Assistance Development Framework) and the Afghan National Development Strategy. The participants considered that the conservation of this outstanding heritage site contributes to promoting peace and fostering sustainable development, for the people of Bamiyan in particular, and in Afghanistan as a whole, by demonstrating the possibility of building sustainable communities by fostering cultural diversity and an appropriate use of the natural and cultural environment.
UNESCO
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