Herat Afghanistan
Department of State Washington File: Excerpt: World Food Program Increases Aid Deliveries to Afghanistan
I am happy to report that the important southern trucking corridor, from Quetta, Pakistan to Herat, Afghanistan has now fully reopened. Food is now moving from our WFP warehouses in Quetta and Spin Boldak through the provinces of Helmand, Nimroz, Zabul, and Farah to Herat. ... -- 25 international staff (plus 22 Swedish road clearing crew and support staff in Herat) ... [Read More]
Afghanistan Unveiled: Documentary on the Life of Women During the Taliban Era
MARIE AYUB (CINEMATOGRAPHER) is 26 years old and has also always lived in Kabul. She traveled to Herat and Bamyan during the making of the film and has just completed co-directing Shadows, the second AINA documentary about womens rights in Afghanistan. ... Traveling to rural regions outside of Kabul, the filmmakers worked to gain the confidence and trust of their interviewees, obtaining unprecedented access to their countrywomen. Journeying to Bamyan, the mountainous region where the Taliban destroyed the enormous ancient statues of the Buddha, the journalists capture heartbreaking footage of women and children who have been reduced to burrowing in caves. Struggling to survive with little food and no water or electricity, left to fend for themselves as the rest of the country rebuilds, the women are led by Zainab, an older woman who details the privations of their daily lives. The journalists travel to Herat, a city known for its rich heritage but also for its lack of freedom for women, where they discover it difficult even to find a woman willing to speak to them. Th ... [Read More]
Signing ceremony at Da Afghanistan Bank
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Department of State Washington File: Rebuilding of Afghanistan's Transnational Highway in Full Swing
Comparing the construction of the Kabul-Kandahar stretch of the highway to the Kandahar-Herat segment, Jordano said that different challenges were involved. He said the Kabul-Kandahar segment was driven more by a political deadline set by President Bush and Afghan President Hamid Karzai to demonstrate progress in the reconstruction of Afghanistan. Jordano said the Kandahar-Herat segment presents greater engineering challenges. ... At a ceremony in Herat on March 31, Zalmay Khalilzad, then U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, said the road “is a symbol of Afghan renewal and progress” and the completed highway will cut the journey from Herat to Kandahar from 12 hours to six hours. ... [Read More]
Rebuilding of Afghanistan's Transnational Highway in Full Swing - US Department of State
At a ceremony in Herat on March 31, Zalmay Khalilzad, then U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, said the road “is a symbol of Afghan renewal and progress” and the completed highway will cut the journey from Herat to Kandahar from 12 hours to six hours. ... Construction of the highway segment linking Kandahar to Herat began in October 2004 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2006. It is a joint venture involving the United States, Saudi Arabia and Japan. The United States will spend an estimated $200 million to lay the pavement for 325 of the 556 kilometers between Kandahar and Herat. The 386-kilometer segment of the highway from the capital Kabul in the east to Kandahar was completed in December 2003 after eight months of work. ... [Read More]
Rebuilding the Road - US Department of State
A completed section of the highway segment linking Kandahar to Herat. (State Dept. photo) Rebuilding of Afghanistan's Transnational Highway in Full SwingCompletion of "Ring Road" in 2006 will help unify the countryThe rebuilding ... [Read More]
Afghanistan
In January, the Governor of Herat and the AIHRC claimed that three policemen taken from the Herat central police district and held without charge for several months in July 2003 were released. The AIHRC alleged that the three were beaten while in custody. There was no judicial follow up. Local Shindand district commander Amanullah Khan denied any responsibility in the December 2003 abduction of a commander of Herat's 21st Division, based in Shindand. ... In Herat Province, party activists did not conduct political activities openly because of Governor Ismail Khan's intolerance of political activities. On June 18, police in Kabul allegedly disrupted and threatened a meeting of party activists; however, the police denied this incident. On September 12, Afghan security forces killed seven demonstrators in Herat. In September, demonstrators protesting the removal of Ismail Khan as Governor allegedly attacked U.N. offices and government-allied forces. ... [Read More]
Afghanistan
Abductions and disappearances occurred during the year. In July, the Government investigated a report that three policemen were taken from Herat's central police district and held without charge for several months. The AIHRC alleged that the three were beaten while in custody. In this instance, the Herat provincial security authorities were implicated in the disappearance. The investigation was ongoing at year's end. In December, there were reports that local Shindand district commander Amanullah Khan abducted a commander of Herat's 21st Division, based in Shindand. The investigation was ongoing at year's end. In August, the Government investigated a report that three policemen had been arrested, tortured, and abducted from jail. The Herat Chief of Criminal Justice said that the prisoners were suspected smugglers. There was no information on the whereabouts of the three policemen by year's end. No suspects were identified by year's end for the alleged disappearance of seve ... [Read More]
Afghanistan (04/05)
Cities: Capital--Kabul (1,780,000; 1999/2000 UN est.). Other cities (1988 UN est.; current figures are probably significantly higher)--Kandahar (226,000); Herat (177,000); Mazar-e-Sharif (131,000); Jalalabad (58,000); Konduz (57,000). ... Afghanistans national airline, Ariana, operates domestic and international routes, including flights to New Delhi, Islamabad, Dubai, Moscow, Istanbul, Tehran, and Frankfurt. A private carrier, Kam Air, commenced domestic operations in November 2003. Many sections of Afghanistans highway and regional road system are undergoing significant reconstruction. The U.S. (with assistance from Japan) completed building a highway linking Kabul to the southern regional capital, Kandahar. Construction is soon to begin on the next phase of highway reconstruction between Kandahar and the western city of Herat. The Asian Development Bank is nearing completion on a road reconstruction project between Kandahar and Spin Boldak, located at the southeastern border with Pakistan. ... [Read More]
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