UN Cites Progress with Afghan Police Pay System, Pushes Back against US Audit
28 April 2011
A United Nations program on Wednesday cited progress in modernizing payroll systems for Afghanistan's police, pushing back against questions about U.N. oversight that were raised by a U.S. audit. [...] Afghanistan's police are in large part funded by international donors to improve security in the war-torn country that cannot afford to pay its own cops. [...] But the U.S. audit on Monday said lax recordkeeping meant Afghanistan's Ministry of Interior...
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Afghanistan-Pakistan Peace Overtures Marred by Border clash
28 April 2011
Despite signs of improvement in diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, border guards from the two countries on Wednesday traded fire in the South Waziristan tribal district. At least 12 Afghan National Army (ANA) troops and one soldier from the Pakistani paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) were killed in the clash that took place in the Angoor Adda area of the district. Three FC troops and eight civilians were also wounded. The border...
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Strategic Shift in Afghanistan Seen Under New U.S. Envoy
28 April 2011
The nomination of diplomatic heavyweight Ryan Crocker as the next U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan represents a shift by Washington away from a military surge to a new political emphasis as foreign troops prepare to leave, diplomats and analysts said on Thursday. [...] General David Petraeus, commander of the 150,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, will also return to Washington as part of a major security overhaul. Petraeus is the architect of the...
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Karzai Considers Military Draft in Afghanistan
28 April 2011
Faced with daunting bills and uncertain about the United States’ long-term commitment to fund the Afghan army and police, President Hamid Karzai is considering a military draft to replace the all-volunteer force being built in Afghanistan, according to senior Afghan officials. The prospect of mandatory conscription, though still only a topic of discussion, has some appeal for Karzai as it would be a cheaper alternative than fielding the costly...
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Prison Warden Arrested in Afghan Jailbreak Plot
28 April 2011
Afghan investigators probing Monday's jailbreak of hundreds of Taliban militants from a Kandahar prison have arrested the chief warden on suspicion of complicity in the plot, officials said. In addition to the warden, Ghulam Dastagir Mayar, the high-level investigative team dispatched from Kabul ordered the arrests of several other officials at the Sarpoza prison, south Afghanistan's largest, and at three nearby police stations, the officials said....
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