Parliament

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Wolesi Jirga, or lower house of parliament, on Wednesday rejected with a majority vote a presidential decree imposing a 10 percent tax on cell phone-users.
The decree was endorsed by the Council of Ministers during the parliament’s summer recess, said Qais Hassan, the Wolesi Jirga’s telecommunication commission head, who placed the order before the house.

JALALABAD (Pajhwok): Nangarhar Governor Salim Khan Kunduzi on Wednesday rejected reports that some lawmakers were trying to establish tribal militias in the eastern province.
“After being defeated, the enemies are trying to circulate rumours that Jalalabad will fall into the hands of insurgents and tribal militias are being raised to prevent it,” Kunduzi told a gathering participated by security officials and public representatives here.

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Minister for Labour, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled on Tuesday cited the war and lawlessness as major factors behind the growing unemployment in the country.
Testifying before the Meshrano Jirga or Senate after being summoned, Nasrin Oryakhel told senators that insecurity was the major reason of unemployment besides drug addiction and corruption.
The minister was summoned to answer questions from lawmakers about unemployment, corruption, reforms and problems facing families of martyrs and the disabled.

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Wolesi Jirga or lower house of parliament on Monday ratified security pacts Afghanistan had concluded with China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Speaker Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi said the agreements had been discussed in meetings of the house’s committees and there had been no objection to any of the articles.
He said the agreement with China was inked with the country’s defence ministry regarding military assistance to Afghan security forces.

KABUL (Pajhwok): A Wolesi Jirga member on Monday accused some lawmakers of receiving bribes from ministers in return for cancelling parliamentary summons.
Based on Article 92, a minister could be summoned by the suggestion of 20 percent of lawmakers. If the minister could not provide satisfactory answers, he or she can be unseated with a no-confidence vote by a majority of MPs.
Maulvi Abdur Rahman Rahmani, a lower house member from northern Balkh province, criticised the performance of some ministers and blamed the Wolesi Jirga for not holding them accountable.

KABUL (Pajhwok): Some senators on Sunday accused the government of appointing individuals based on political, party, ethnic and regional connections.
One of them, Luthfullah Baba, who represents eastern Nangarhar province in the Meshrano Jirga, told the house that most of the people recently appointed to government positions happened to be campaigners of the two doctors (President Ghan and CEO Abdullah Abdullah).

KABUL (Pajhwok): Wolesi Jirga Speaker Abadul Rauf Ibrahimi on Saturday insisted on the need to the continuation of ongoing offensive in northern Kunduz province and asked for the changed of operational tactic adopted by the security forces.
Two weeks earlier, hundreds of Taliban gunmen stormed Kunduz City from various directions, capturing the strategic city after a few hours of clashes with security forces.

SAR-I-PUL CITY (Pajhwok): Thousands of people, with some carrying weapons, on Wednesday rallied in central Sar-i-Pul province in a show of support for Afghan security forces.
Some 6,000 people, including lawmakers, government officials and residents attended the rally in Sar-i-Pul city, the provincial capital.
Mohammad Azim Qoyash, a lawmaker from Sar-i-Pul province, said: “We don’t consider Taliban as brothers because all of them are puppets of Pakistan who want to implement a foreign agenda in Afghanistan.”

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Wolesi Jirga (WJ) or lower house of the parliament on Wednesday approved a draft law regarding salaries of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), his two deputies and others discharging duties out of the country’s grade system.
The measure comprising two chapters and eight articles was presented to the house by lawmaker Sadiqizada Neili. The draft had earlier landed in the house in May.

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Wolesi Jirga or lower house of parliament on Tuesday decided to summon the Minister of Labour, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled over fake individuals receiving salaries and other allowances from the ministry.
Abdul Baqi Baryal, who heads the Wolesi Jirga commission on martyrs and disabled, told the house that previously ghost employees had been unearthed in other departments, but now such people were found in the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled (MoLSMD).