Kabul Interviews

 KABUL (Pajhwok): Sensitive election materials have been successfully transferred to five provinces, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) said on Sunday.
The commission, however, expressed fear that insecurity in some provinces could threaten the next month’s polls.

KABUL (Pajhwok): A presidential runner says nobody reserves the right to monopolise national issues, accusing President Ashraf Ghani of using the Consultative Peace Jirga as an election campaign tool.
Enayatullah Hafeez, the candidate, was born in the Behsud district of MaidanWardak province in 1978. Hailing from the Hazara community, he holds a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature and a Masters in Business.

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Independent Election Commission (IEC) has identified its employees accused of corruption at different levels and pledged to dismiss them if found guilty.

KABUL (Pajhwok): Presidential hopeful Mohammad Shahab Hakimi has called for the implementation of the rule of law and efforts for peace. If elected, he will create a rule-based economy.
Hakimi worked as MDC head for many years, headed the Afghans campaign against mines and served as teacher at the Kabul University.
His presidential team includes Abdul Ali Surabi as first vicc-president and Noor-ul-Habib Haseer his second deputy. The presidential election is scheduled for September 20.

KABUL (Pajhwok): Presidential runner Mohammad Ibrahim Alkozai says the role of people is vital in maintaining security and peace and resolving the current crisis.

KABUL (Pajhwok): Presidential candidate Farooq Nijrabi says his policy would be strengthening a democratic and national system after becoming the president in order to put Afghanistan on the path to stability, development and welfare.

KABUL (Pajhwok): Presidential candidate Rahmatullah Nabil has accused the National Unity Government (NUG) of politicizing the security forces and running parallel institutions which put a question mark over the system’s legitimacy and multiplied economic and security challenges.

 

KABUL (Pajhwok): Presidential hopeful Noor Rahman Lewal has called on all candidates to work for transparency in the election process before their registration.
In an exclusive interview with Pajhwok Afghan News, he said the Wolesi Jirga polls had shown the Independent Election Commission (IEC) failure to ensure transparency.

KABUL (Pajhwok): Mohammad Hakim Torsan, a would-be presidential election hopeful, has criticised the performance of previous regimes and says the national unity government failed in its term to ensure security and work for people’s wellbeing.
Failures on political, social, economic, security, anti-corruption fronts and the migration of youth are other factors Torsan says he is worried about.

KABUL (Pajhwok): Shaida Mohammad Abdali, a would-be presidential candidate and former ambassador to India, has said Loya Jirga preserved the authority to decide the fate of Chief Executive Office (CEO) and consider the third vice president.

A year passed from the Afghan presidential elections, but yet the government is lagging. More than half of the government is acting. Peace talk is deadlocked, insecurity has increased and even expended from south and east to the northern and western provinces. Unemployment and poverty is at its peak. Government reform and development projects are barren. Institutions have been weakened and the casualties of Afghan National Security Forces increased.

KABUL (Pajhwok): First deputy chief executive officer, Eng. Mohammad Khan, says the national unity government has achieved little since its formation six months ago, calling on the two leaders to end this problem at the earliest.
Khan told Pajhwok Afghan News during an exclusive interview on Saturday that the unity government was a new experiment in Afghanistan and the region and a rare example seen in the world.

 

 

 

KABUL (Pajhwok): Rural development minister-designate Eng. Nasir Ahmad Durrani on Thursday said he would create a department to maintain transparency in the ministry’s affairs.

KABUL (Pajhwok): A former minister on Sunday urged President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani to keep sustained focus on social welfare and job-generating programmes for the sake of Afghanistan’s development.
Ex-minister of social welfare Amina Afzali, in an exclusive interview with Pajhwok Afghan News, claimed significant achievements had been made in the social welfare field during her tenure.

KABUL (Pajhwok): Hezb-i-Mahaz-i-Milli Islami leader Syed Hamid Gilani on Saturday suggested the armed opposition should also be included in the national unity process.

Speaking exclusively to Pajhwok Afghan News, Gilani said the unity government, led by President Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, had been formed and stability was among the administration’s top priorities.

Referring to the creation of the Chief Executive Officer position, the politician said the step had been taken in the larger national interest as a strong foundation to guarantee national unity.

 
KABUL (Pajhwok): Presidential advisor on tribal and border affairs Shahzada Massoud on Wednesday said Afghanistan was home to jirgas and the election crisis should have been resolved through an intra-Afghan understanding.
The election crisis deepened after presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah rejected preliminary results from the June 14 presidential runoff and declared himself the winner.
Before the results that put presidential runner Ashraf Ghani in the lead, Abdullah had accused Ghani and President Karzai of massively rigging the polls.

KABUL (Pajhwok): Presidential contender Abdul Qayyum Karzai has pledged to make Afghanistan an economic hub of the region, build close trade ties with neighbouring countries if he is elected in the April vote. 

In an exclusive interview with Pajhwok Afghan News, he discussed a wide range of issues such as economic development, Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) with the United States and the slow-moving peace process.

War alone could not ensure peace and stability, he said, adding his government would be dominated by competent individuals from different ethnic groups.

KABUL (Pajhwok): Presidential contender Hidayat Amin Arsala says good governance, rule of law and speedy dispensation of justice tend to discourage the scourge of growing militancy and instability in Afghanistan.<--break->

 

KABUL (Pajhwok): Presidential contender Hidayat Amin Arsala says good governance, rule of law and speedy dispensation of justice tend to discourage the scourge of growing militancy and instability in Afghanistan.

KABUL (Pajhwok): Sardar Mohammad Nader Naeem, the presidential contender says if he is elected as president he will eliminate the menace of corruption, ensure rule of law and push forward the nascent peace process.

In an exclusive interview with Pajhwok Afghan News, the presidential hopeful assured he would equally treat all Afghans and withdraw extra ordinary privileges enjoyed by some influential.

KABUL (Pajhwok): Presidential contender Mohammad Shafiq Gul Agha Sherzai has warned if the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) is not signed and foreign troops leave, Afghanistan will once again emerge as a terrorist sanctuary.

“Afghanistan will turn into a terrorist safe haven again if foreign forces leave the country,” Sherzai said, insisting that the security pact with the US was in the supreme national interest.

 

KABUL (PAN): Presidential contender Abdur Rab Rassoul Sayyaf, blaming the government for what he called inconsistent policies to control terrorism and ensure economic growth, says he will work out effective policies to tackle challenges. 

KABUL (PAN): Presidential contender Dr. Mohammad Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai has promised to strictly implement rule of law in the country and present the nation with performance of his governance after every six months if he wins the ballots.

“I will designate as many as 15,000 individuals, including elders, Ulamas, and youngsters to closely monitor the perfor

KABUL (PAN): Presidential contender Daud Sultanzoyi has said he will implement country’s law irrespective of one’s social standing and hold well-off accountable if he wins the upcoming elections.

KABUL (PAN): Key opposition leader Dr. Abdullah Abdullah has termed President Hamid Karzai’s new conditions for signing a vitally important security deal with the US until after next year’s elections as impractical and personal.

KABUL (PAN): Identifying durable peace and tranquility in Afghanistan as his top priorities, presidential candidate Qutbuddin Hilal has said there will be no pre-conditions for holding reconciliation talks with the Taliban and Hezb-i-Islami if he wins the upcoming ballot.

In an exclusive interview with Pajhwok Afghan News, Hilal alleged concrete steps had not been taken over the past decade to ensure lasting peace and tranquility in the country.

 
KABUL (PAN): The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) on Tuesday said foreign soldiers had exited more than 700 military bases ahead of their withdrawal from the country in 2014.

KABUL (PAN): Afghan Hindus demand of the future president to pay attention to their problems, besides making efforts to stabilize the country's security and economic situation.
"We are also residents of this country and have problems. I call on the next president to concentrate on resolving our problems," Autam Singh Dilsoz, a perfume seller, told Pajhwok Afghan News.
The 44-year-old father of five children said he stays in Kabul, but his family is living in India as he lacks a house in the capital city.

KABUL (PAN): Presidential candidate Abdul Ghafoor Zoori says he does not recognise the Durand Line and, if elected to the top office, he will resolve the issue by seeking the intervention of the international community. In an exclusive interview with Pajhwok Afghan News, Zoori explained Afghanistan had no problem with any country except Pakistan. The only spat with the neighbouring country was the status of the British-era frontier, he said. Similarly, Zoori stressed that Afghan areas that became part of Pakistan following the imposition of the Durand Line must be returned to his country.

KABUL (PAN): Presidential candidate Hidayat Amin Arsala has opposed the introduction of federal system in the country and said it would not create even a single complete institution. In an exclusive interview with Pajhwok Afghan News, Arsala said he would continue the existing system if elected as president of Afghanistan in the upcoming presidential elections. Referring to the Constitution of the country, he said law-making was not as a simple job to be changed after every two or three years. Supporters of the federal system could not work for the benefit of Afghanistan, he added.