Balkh

economy

2009-01-11T03:13:00.000-08:00

Lack of a cohesive government economic policy seen as main factor in poverty increase

The number of child beggars has increased in Mazar-i-Sharif, the provincial capital of Balkh province.

The shrine of Hazrat Ali—fourth caliph of Islam—known as (Rowza Sharif) parks have become key gathering location for beggars.

These children say, economic problems and lack of a bread winner in the family have forced them to turn to the streets and to beg.

Social experts say that lack of an exact economic policy by the government is the main reason for the increasing poverty and also increase in the number of beggars.

Abdulrab Jahid, a social expert, said: "The government does not have a proper plan in all fields, and the beggars' problem is one of these."

The head of the police department in Balkh, Sardar Muhammad Sultani, said the police have started investigations to identify the leaders of these child begging groups, seeks to round them up and eject them from the city.

The Afghan government recently agreed to round up street beggars and relocate them, though to where remains unclear, as do the measures the government will take to provide humane care for displaced beggars.

World Politics Review

2008-09-20T17:12:00.000-07:00

Don Duncan | 08 Sep 2008
World Politics Review
The changes that have come to Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan's fourth biggest city, are so great that in some cases returning refugees who left during the war struggle to find not only their bearings, but the streets and houses where they once lived. Modern glass and concrete buildings have sprung up next to the traditional earthen houses. Many of the roads have been paved, punctuated by elaborate roundabouts that have been built in public-private partnership: local businesses fund the construction and for their efforts are allowed to erect plaques, signs and structures in the center to advertise their businesses. The city is in flux. Signs of Western influence abound -- new schools, wells, roads all bear plaques attesting to French, Japanese, and Swedish sponsorship. Billboards along the new roads betray a newfound consumerism: Young, confident professional-looking men and women smile out at passersby while conversing on sleek new mobile phones. Yet against the new, signs of the old Afghanistan abound.
And as with Qala-i-Jangi, the faintest details tell the story of the by-gone Taliban era. Windows on the fronts of most houses are narrow horizontal strips located high above the ground. Shoib, my guide, tells me this was not always so. Afghans used to have windows that let in light from the street, but the Taliban deemed visibility of the domestic realm from the outside indecent, ordering that front windows be bricked up. The cracks along the walls of the Sultan Razia High School for Girls hark back to the school's previous use as a Taliban base in the city. These cracks are the remnants of the bombing of the school by the U.S. Air Force in its assault on the Taliban strongholds of Mazar-i-Sharif in late 2001. The fresh swaths of plaster next to the cracks herald the return of the building to its intended purpose: a center of female literacy and empowerment in Mazar. The school educates 5,000 of Mazar's young women, all of whom were denied education under the Taliban regime. But every positive sign here has a negative analogue elsewhere in the country's less stable regions. The Taliban has made girls' schools like Sultan Razia one of its frequent bombing targets in an effort to undo what is sees as the "creeping rot" of Western influence in Afghanistan. But not here in Mazar-i-Sharif. At mid-afternoon a shrill bell is rung by a wizened, hunched woman and a sea of girls pours down the stairs, dressed in black tunics and white head scarves, flooding the courtyard outside, where they gradually don their pleated burqas and advance towards the main gate to rejoin the bustle of Mazar. Artillery and manpower are still the key weapons against the Taliban insurgency to the south. In the rest of the country, concrete does the job. Building roads through once anarchic regions is a means of consolidating the hard-won stability the invasion has brought. International development groups have spent more than $2 billion on Afghanistan's roads since 2001. The infrastructure improvements not only increase development in previously hard-to-reach areas but also rob the guerrillas in Afghanistan's asymmetrical war of their key asset: the territorial upper hand. Development here may move to the beat of a Western drum, but change comes slower among the people. Legacies of the Taliban era, like the reduced windows, are all around. And they are not just structural. Among the people, there is a fear of retribution, a reluctance to criticize authority; acts of such defiance would have landed you in jail -- or worse -- a decade ago. The message to the West is that Afghanistan is free, yet there are red lines everywhere: the government leadership, the locally eradicated poppy harvest, the hashish cultivation that has replaced it. People are afraid to speak about such sensitive issues, Shoib tells me. Remaking the city has been a question of security, will and investment. The fear deeply instilled among the people by the Taliban years takes much longer to fade away. Don Duncan is a journalist currently based in Hong Kong. He traveled to Afghanistan with the support of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.

MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan -- The kinds of tourists you meet in Afghanistan are not quite the same as those you'd be likely to meet on the Costa del Sol. First of all, there are fewer of them, far fewer -- perhaps only a few hundred a year. But if it can be said that Costa del Sol tourists share at least one trait in common (a love of the sun), today's visitors to Afghanistan share something else: curiosity, perhaps with a dash of recklessness. While post-invasion Afghanistan has never descended into the kinds of violence and anarchy seen in Iraq, it is by no means a safe place to visit. In recent months, the country has seen a tangible resurgence of the Taliban, which has been striking out from its strongholds along the border with Pakistan, bringing casualty numbers to their highest levels since the 2001 invasion. Yet a visit to the country makes it clear that today, there are two Afghanistans: one at war, particularly in the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar, and another at peace, with levels of stability that vary from the jittery and paranoid Kabul to the carefree city of Mazar-i-Sharif in the north, where I spent most of my time during a reporting trip in May. I stayed at the Barat hotel (one of two in the city, I was told), where I had an entire floor to myself, as did each of the six other guests. The hotel overlooks Mazar's signature Blue Mosque, a sprawling complex of pools, green areas and zones of prayer that becomes a bustling confluence of Mazar life every evening. The sunsets are sublime, with the dying rays catching the thousands of white doves, the splash of children playing in the fountains, the flowing movement of burqas and the wisps of smoke from men gathered to chat. The tourists I met told me they'd come to see what Afghanistan was like behind the headlines they had read in the West. But others had come with a mission. One woman I met from Switzerland had come to understand the plight of Afghanistan's disabled. She herself was in a wheelchair and had made the journey to see how a country with an estimated 10 percent of its population disabled by war and disease is dealing with the problem. The answer she found: not very well. I had come for two reasons: to see how Afghanistan at peace had been changed through development, and to see the parts that hadn't changed, relics of oppression both physical and psychic that have yet to become truly a thing of the past. Because to visit the Afghanistan at peace is to have the security and freedom to witness the remnants of Taliban oppression first hand, before they are brushed away forever. Qala-i-Jangi, a 19th century fortress located 20 kilometers outside Mazar-i-Sharif, is one of these untouched artifacts, an unadulterated testament to the victory of Western forces over the Taliban in the north of the country. It was at Qala-i-Jangi (or "House of War" in Persian) that the Taliban offered its final, dying throes of resistance during the initial offensive by the Northern Alliance, backed by U.S.-led coalition forces. Some 300 Taliban fighters being held by the Northern Alliance in the fortress rose up and fought for seven days before being subdued under extremely heavy artillery fire. The bullet holes along the walls of the fortress remain unplastered. The rusty remnants of tanks and heavy artillery lie strewn around. Graffiti scratched into black scorched walls say things like "Long Live the Taliban" in Persian and, in Urdu, "In Memory of Mullah Mohammad Jan Akhond," a Pakistani Taliban fighter who died in the conflict. I am told this by my tour guide Shoib, who knows because he was there as a translator for the U.S. army. As the parts of Afghanistan that have been secured since 2001 take advantage of their newfound stability to rebuild, people like Shoib, who have worked as translators for the army and press since 2001, are now also serving as guides for Afghanistan's miniscule, yet slowly growing tourism industry. For anyone visiting Afghanistan, these guides comes with an incredible added value: direct, first-hand experience of some of the most crucial moments in the country's recent history. Mazar-i-Sharif and the surrounding region is one of the most stable places in Afghanistan, and this stability enables visitors to ignore, for the most part, the reality that much of the country is at war. In Mazar, where troops are nowhere to be seen, it is easy to forget that this security is propped up by the presence of 71,000 foreign troops in the country and dependent on the continued willingness of the United States and NATO to remain there. Walking around on one's own, mingling and shopping are not a problem. Shops offer crafted wood, woolen hats, colorful hand-woven Uzbeck tapestries, and an array of hand-made carpets, some of which depict moments of historical significance for Afghanistan: the end of the Soviet occupation in 1989, the World Trade Center attacks on 9/11 and the arrival of the U.S.-led coalition forces in 2001.

2008-08-03T20:01:00.000-07:00

Police Training Course For Women

Balkh authority opens first training course for female police in Mazar-I-Sharif city on July31.

The first training course that took place at Woman's Affairs office of Balkh province, educates women in different position of law enforcement in four to five months.

Sardar Mohammad Sultan, the Chief of Provincial Police said the police duty should not implicate any activities that are against law. He added that good manners and sense of duty would bring confidence among civilians and national guards.

The female Polices who registered in this course receive 7500Afghani (150$) per month that 70% of the salary will be paid by the government and the other 30% by a foreign organization.

Total 700 female police have been trained additionally working in the government in entire country since removal of the Taliban.

Balkh

2008-07-23T16:21:00.000-07:00

A Tribute To Our Beloved Ustad Zabiullah Khan

Balkh

2008-06-05T10:42:00.000-07:00

Balkh Under Lack Of Drinking Water

Afghanistan National Alliance
Reporter: Mohammad Fahim Khairy

Thousands of families have been forced to leave their homes due to food and drinking water scarcity in Balkh, northern province of Afghanistan. Families ended up in a desert of Sholgara district where started to live in camping in the two side of a tiny river.

Balkh an agricultural province did not received enough rain and snow this year. Local farmers lost their fields and left them without any food in whole summer. Water and food shortages have forced some families to eat grass.

In various areas water-fed crops have died due to lack of rain and in some others an unprecedented infestation of locusts has destroyed cultivated fields in recent weeks.

Balkh farmers are the rich cultivators of vegetables, fruit, and wheat, but food commodities and lack of water have been forcefully displaced farmer families to different parts of the province in order to survive the dry summer.

Many parts of Afghanistan did not receive as much as necessary rain and snow this year, increasing anxiety the country may face deficiency again, amid global soaring food prices that have already hit the mountainous and war-torn country.

The villagers, who walked all the way down from Alborz district to seek a place where they could provide water for their children, are asking Afghan government to help them as soon as possible. ‘‘We could not find drinking water in our villages, my children are dying, they are thirsty’’ said a mother of four children living in an old tiny camp.

Balkh Provincial Council started to count the number of families in order to find them help from International Communities and national businessmen. ‘’ If we do not receive any food and drinking water in next 24 hours, the situation will get deadly’’ said The Council representatives.

April, 19/08

2008-04-19T16:44:00.001-07:00

Farmers Displaced in Balkh Province

Dry spring, which shattered arable lands and increased the food prices, forced hundreds of farmers who only support their life and families through agriculture, to leave their homes to different villages in Alborz and Sholgara districts of Balkh province in order to survive.

In a landlocked country where only 12 percent of the land is arable, irrigating land is limited to three options: canals fed by river and rain, a natural spring, or the ancient underground aquifer known as karez. For the farmer fortunate enough to cultivate a sliver of the available 78,240 hectares of Afghanistan land, only an estimated 20 to 40 percent of canal-irrigated land was available for harvest in 2002 due to insufficient seed and water for irrigation

This spring, farmers and their families left their farms and pastureland because of the dry weather; they had no means to feed their children. The dehydrated spring and lack of rain destroyed numerous farms and pastureland in Afghanistan; especially in the northern cities this year.

Mr. Neyamatullah Mashab, The governor of Sholgara district, had promised the farmers that he is going to inform the provincial council regarding the situation. In addition, Mr. Governor had told the local media that 90% of the farms are destroyed in the dry spring, which is going to increase the price of vegetables and fruit this year. The villagers requested United Nations’ help to support their families.

Afghanistan had a deadly winder that took the lives of thousands of people but, as soon as the season changed, farmers never countenance any rainy weather to grow produce or livestock on their farms.

Balkh province is the pinnacle metropolitan that furnishes every year the best quality of watermelons, melons, many other fruit and vegetables within and outer surface of the country.

Balkh

2008-03-15T18:23:00.000-07:00

I Have Never Been a Puppet and Will Never be in the Future

March 12, 2008

The Following article, which is translated from Persian into English, is an interview with Gen Atta Mohammad Noor, the Governor of Balkh by a reporter from Payam Mujahid Magazine

Reporter: I am grateful for your willingness to be our guest on this weekly forum. Please introduce yourself for our fellow readers.

Gen Atta: My name is Atta Mohammad. My family name is Noor. I am the son of Haji Noor Mohammad one of the businessman of Balkh city. I graduated from Bakhtar Educational Center. I joined the holy fighters force against the Russian invasion when I was 19 years old. I have studied military courses; then I started teaching military technique for the freedom fighters. After the fall of Communist Regime in 1992, I was hired as the Political and Military Chief of northern Afghanistan. After a year I became the Commander of Force-7 of the Defense Ministry. We had six forces and the creation of seventh force was my requisition from the government of time. On the war against terrorism, I was a member of the High Commission of the Islamic Government of Afghanistan. It was the time when I was the Military Chief of Northern too, that was located in district of Dare-Suf in the north part of the country.

Reporter: What was the original position that you served during the war against Red Army and why do the people call you Ustad (Teacher)?

Gen Atta: After I graduated from school, I joined the freedom fighters. Shortly afterward I was hired as a commander of Mobile Force and later I became the In-charge of many different areas. I should mention that people call me Ustad (teacher) is because I was teaching Military Techniques to the fighters and everyone still calls me that. Then in 1980, I was elected as the Assistance of Ustad Zabiullah Khan, the leader of northern forces, in that time by an official convention.

Reporter: When the Taliban and Al Qaeda attacked northern cities, where were you?

Gen Atta: When the Taliban and Al Qaeda invaded northern cities I pulled force out into the mountains and we fought two months against them. Then I went to meet Ahmad Shah Massoud, the Defense Minister of the time, bypassing the Iranian borders. After taking Massoud’s commands I returned back to the northern mountains. I never went outside of Afghanistan during the whole fighting time until today.

Reporter: When you met with Ahmad Shah Massoud, the Defense Minister of government on the war against terrorism, what did Mr. Massoud advise you to do besides being the Northern Chief?

Gen Atta: The importance of Cmdr. Massoud’s ideas was to start the war against terrorism from four zones of Afghanistan; not only from the north side of the country and we must try harder to make terrorism deteriorate. When I returned back to the district of Dare-Suf where our main center was, I had only 12 fighters with me. With the 12 fighters we had re-captured many places in a short time. Soon the civilians joined me and supported me to pull out the Taliban and Al Qaeda army from the whole province and what Mr. Massoud advised me to do, when we tried it, besides the Taliban-Qaeda faced a big weakness, we delivered great militarily damage to them.

Reporter: So far, from the removal of the Taliban and the new regime, how much are you in agreement with the new government’s output and their effectiveness?

Gen Atta: I must despondently say that the agreement of International Communities and the countries, which were supposed to help Afghanistan rebuild, didn’t happened as much as is necessary. But if learn from the past from before the establishment of the government, there was hardship and massacres that every citizen of the country was not able to believe that he or she may have to be alive by the next day. But a big change came into Afghanistan after the removal of the Taliban. Our government system is getting improved. The security is also getting tighter. Moreover, many different companies have been established and started working for the civilians.

Reporter: The Mujahiden leaders (Northern Alliance) are being dismissed from their governmental positions, on the other hand your connection with the government is getting strong. What is the reason for this?

Gen Atta: These belong to the personality of the person. And it’s also dependent on the society and peoples’ willingness. In my opinion, nobody will lose anything if they do not play the politic incorrectly. Nobody kept me in this position so far and I haven’t begged any high profile politician to keep me as a governor. I am serving in this position because my people wanted me to be here, and they want my activities and the works that I am doing. Most of the people think that the current government has lost its connection flanked by the nations. My position in the current government is due to the people’s support, people trust me. And I recognize this government as an elected one, which was established by nation votes. But I surely support this government even if its ministries system is not well, the people who are around the President are not accepted as rationally wise, anyhow with the all problems and unwillingness, I call this government highly better then our earlier period system, for the reason that people have security, freedom of speech, women and girls are attending universities and schools without any kind of difficulty and it’s a peaceful situation.

For example, if we rejected this government then who did something good for the country in the past? As we witnessed, that the others failed establishing a legislative system. Instead of being antagonistic against the government, we should fix the problems and seek solution for no matter which that are wrongs.

Reporter: What is your opinion about the establishment of the new opposition (United Front) and their policy?

Gen Atta: When the democracy created, everyone has the right to establish political party or opposition. According to this new opposition, I must say that beside of not being a member of it and I don’t confirm it too. I don’t like their activities because they are not the solutions of Afghanistan in progress problems.

Reporter: the residents of Balkh province have strong-willed for the security but they are complaining about the rebuilding process. How do you see this dilemma?

Gen Atta: Regarding to the rebuilding and development, the International Communities as they promised didn’t accomplished enough, although there are many things that have been done. People have right to complain. People complain because there were too much promises and little accomplishment. But opposite of that, Balkh province, according to other part of Afghanistan, is much improved. If some people complain, there are many others who are passionate.

Reporter: Opium and poppies are completely destroyed in Balkh province, what was the best motivation for that?

Gen Atta: There are many reasons for the demolishing of opium and poppies. First, having useful and balanced plans, second, a great management and leading, third, the active and well-trained teams, fourth, by means and co-working of the Islamic Provincial Council and Islamic clergies, and not accepted any kind of farmers reason for grown opium. We did our best to clean up the province from any type of poppies grown. The International Communities didn’t help us enough and Afghanistan's Anti-Drug Ministry had no any professional plans and didn’t support us at all to destroy the poppies. But fortunately with the blessing of God and the civilians we did destroy it completely.

Reporter: It has been saying that you are doing some personal business by your own besides of being the governor, could you please explain this and inform us?

Gen Atta: Yes I do and being a businessman is my family heritage and because my official salary is not enough for me and I am not able help or support my family and my life. I never ask bribes and will never so I support my family in a good manner.

Reporter: You have received a conceited medal from the President Karzai, was it just an appearance or because of your official activities, since you are the only person from Mujahid (Northern Alliance) that the government has been admiring you?

Gen Atta: For me, any type of improvement or credits is about my activities and behaviors, which I have been doing for my people. When I received any recommendation or medals I am pleased for my people and I feel proud.

Reporter: When your friends the Mujahiden (Northern Alliance Leaders) get dismissed from the government what do you feel?

Gen Atta: I feel very gloomy, and I said this many times that the thought of dismissing the Northern Alliance is a useless idea. These anti Mujahiden ideologies have to stop. Because the Mujahidens belong to the people of Afghanistan. Even when I met with American politician at the White House I have mentioned this.

Reporter: What is your current curriculum?

Gen Atta: The celebration of Islamic New Year is coming and we are getting ready to provide security because three millions people are attending the New Year Eve in Balkh city from all around the country. We need to clean the city up and provide a tight security. On the other hand we are trying to set our five years plan for the development and for the starting these plans we need to get ready before the New Year begins.

Reporter: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization named the year of 2007 after Mawlana Jalaluddin Balkhi (Rumi) what have you done regarding this?

Gen Atta: It’s very remarkable to see one of the Islamic philosopher who was born in Balkh province named the year for him. According to Jalaluddin Balkhi (Rumi)’s humanitarian work we haven’t done enough for him, which he deserves. But we organized many seminaries and meetings in order to introduce Mawlana (Rumi)’s individuality for the people. We built Mawlana’s house in Balkh city Mazar-I-Sharif last year. The first Assistant of President Karzai attended the ceremony. Two nights a week we have meetings in the Malawna’s house, they discuss his philosophic works and poetry. Moreover we have a small library inside the house and its open for public. In my trip to Turkey I attended the ceremony of Mawlana’s birthday and I met with Turkish official including Turkish President. I spoke to them about helping me to built Mawlana’s guesthouse in Balkh where he was born. Turkish official promised me three million dollars for building the guesthouse. The construction plan is ready. We are just waiting for the Ministry of Affairs to prove it. We also named a Park after Mawlana and we chose the area too. We might shortly start building the park.

Reporter: What is your future plans and which candidate are you going to vote for in the Presidential Election?

Gen Atta: Anyone who gets the majority votes and who have the people’s support. Anything my people decide or vote that is my choice. I never will be a puppet and won’t be.

Reporter: You had a media conference when Gen Abdul Rashed Dostum was blamed for torturing one of his allies. You had mentioned in the conference that you do not allow anyone to make the northern’s security risky. Was this because of supporting Mr. Akbar Bai who blamed Gen Dostum for torturing him?

Gen Atta: I do not want to take side with any of them. And I don’t judge about Gen Dostum or Akbar Bai, his allies and it’s the law that can decide about them. My conference was not about their personal fight. It was about the people who are talking on behalf of whole northern cities and threading the central government from this pose. I spoke for those who warned the government if they do not stop bothering them then seven or eight provinces in the northern Afghanistan would turn against the government. We have people living in here and we are responsible to provide security etc and protect them. I could not keep clients when people represented their political parties talking on behalf of the whole north. Balkh city is the main center of northern Afghanistan. Besides the civilians we have our officials who decide.

Reporter: Mr. Governor can you tell us about your personal life please?

Gen Atta: Yes I am married and I have a wife and six sons and one daughter. I have three brothers one is older and two of them are younger then me. I feel myself lucky about my personal life.

Reporter: As we see you are busy all the times, if you have free time what would you do?

Gen Atta: I am busy most of the time but whenever I am free, I watch TV, read and work on my official papers.

Reporter: Do you like sports?

Gen Atta: Yes I do sports every morning and I really love sports.

Reporter: Dear Ustad (Teacher) for the last question I want to know that what is your message to the politicians?

Gen Atta: I appreciate you coming to Balkh city and having me speak for the Payam Mujahid Magazines. I still remember that Payam Mujahid was one of the most active media that worked for the people during the three decade of war. My message to the people of Afghanistan is to use the time and the opportunities to support the peace and national unity not to create problems for the government. Do not duplicate whatever happened in the past. Furthermore we should think about rebuilding the country and our national partnerships. Thanks.

Terrorism

2008-03-03T02:48:00.000-08:00

Balkh Officials Arrested Five Suicide Bombers

Afghanistan officials announced the arrest of five Al Qaeda suicide bombers in the capital city of Northern Balkh province yesterday on March 1st, 2008. General Atta Mohammad Noor, the Governor of the Northern Province confirmed the arrest of five Al Qaeda members to the press at his Provincial office.

The group of terrorists under the command of Sahib Gul had committed numerous suicide attacks in different areas of Balkh city. They were trained in Helmand, in the southern part of the country before starting their mission in the north.

Governor Atta Mohammad told the press about many different types of mines that were found among the group, such as Anti Autos, Anti Personnel, Remote Controlled and Grenades Bombs.

Balkh is known as the most peaceful and tightly secured province in whole country. On the other hand, since the beginning of 2007, Taliban, Al Qaeda and the anti western party Hzib-Islami began targeting all Northern Provinces of Afghanistan. Taliban trains underage children as suicide bombers in the Southern part of the country, they trick the street children into wearing explosive vests by telling them they will see flowers when they push the button. They are told to walk to the foreign troops and then to press the button.

Most of the attacks have been planned by Hzib-Islami members in view of the fact that they have more familiarity with the areas than the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

Hzib-Islami had many groups and followers in every part of the Northern cities of Afghanistan during the war against Soviet. After they allied with the Taliban and Al Qaeda they took the position of attacking Northern cities.

Besides suicide bombing, Hzib-Islami party has been assassinating the local authorities and religious leaders who are not willing to co-operate.

Twice the Taliban captured Balkh province in 1990s. They committed many robberies, kidnappings, ethnicities genocides, women trafficking and destruction.

Balkh Info:

2008-02-16T14:21:00.000-08:00

The Civil Revolutionary of Balkh
A Short Biography of Ustad Zabiullah Khan

The mastermind Ustad Zabiullah Khan is the man who sacrificed himself to let the sun of democracy and freedom shine from the Balkh sky. He is the man who re-made Balkh history once again, and the man who taught every Balkhi resident honesty, faithfulness, defensibility, loyalty, compassion, cooperation, conscientiousness, patriotism and generosity.

Ustad Zabiullah Khan, an ethnic Tajik, who later became a competent leader, was a schoolteacher in Balkh city in the northern province of Afghanistan when the Russian Red Army invaded the country. Zabiullah was known as a kind hearted, nice and friendly teacher. His students loved him very much.

But the state of affairs deteriorated, day after day. Horror, murder and imprisonment, unreasonable horrific torture, changed everyone’s life into a state of oppressive suffering and fearful nightmares. Every day innocent civilians were murdered and imprisoned for no reason in the city of Balkh. No student or teacher dared to come to school or set foot in government offices. The historical city of Balkh turned into a bloody killing zone.

Ustad Zabiullah didn’t want his country to be destroying anymore and his innocent people to die. Manly he stood tall on the mountain of Alborz outer surface of Balkh to stop the terrorization of communism. The day when he discussed with his close friends, who most of them were schoolteachers about the politic condition, he decided to fight and free his city from the red handed communists. Most of the teachers including the current governor of Balkh Ustad Atta Mohammad Noor joined him and they all left to the mountains to start the holy revolution and drive the Red Army out.

Ustad Zabiullah met with Professor Burhanuddin Rabbani the leader of Jamiat-e Islami Afghanistan (Islamic Society of Afghanistan) in Peshawar, Pakistan and established Northern Freedom Fighting Council of Jamiat-e-Islami. After a month Zabiullah returned to Balkh and brought the approval of Balkh council.

Attorney Mawlawi Mohammad Alam became the head of the Northern Freedom Fighting Council of Jamiat-e-Islami, who was later assassinated by the Taliban in 1997, and Ustad Zabiullah was then appointed as Chief of the Army. He began the holy revolution with his other fellows such as Ustad Atta Mohammad Noor the current governor of Balkh; Mamoor Abdullah; Rais Din Mohammad; Haji Hamidullah Sad`bashi; Mohammad Saleem Shahed, Mohammad Alam Khan Azadi, the current representative of Balkh province in Afghanistan parliament; Mrs. Sayfora Niyazi, Mrs. Rabia; etc.

Ustad Zabiullah Khan served as a chief of Jamiat-I-Islami freedom fighters in three northern provinces; Balkh, Samangan and Baghlan. Any village and any district that he had freed from the communists, he helped rebuild. The first things that he built were schools, hospitals and cultural centers, as well as educational training centers for his fighters and their families. In a year Ustad Zabiullah had put fear in every pro communist’s heart in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.

Ustad Zabiullah Khan met with Ahmad Shah Massoud, the current National Hero of Afghanistan, in district of Narin on July 1983. Zabiullah suggested Massoud establish a larger military council, which would include whole northern cities. Massoud was fighting in the Panjsher valley, Kapisa and Parwan provinces 25 kilometers away from Kabul. Massoud agreed to Zabiullah Khan’s suggestion and established the new military council of Jamiat-I-Islami named Shura-ya-Nezar after the approval of Prof, Rabbani the leader of Jamiat. In a few nights of Ustad Zabiullah Khan’s visit he shared many strategies with Massoud. Ahmad Shah Massoud respected him like his older brother and a competent leader after Prof Rabbani.

Zabiullah Khan defeated the Red Army in many districts and burn down many military conveys of Russia. Zabiullah captured almost half of Balkh province and surrounded the city where the main center of communist was and organized his frontline on southern mountains of Balkh.

Soon, the younger generations of Balkh joined Zabiullah Khan’s force, such as Mohammad Esaq Rahgozar, Mohammad Feda Noor the younger brother of current governor, Mohammad Sediq Toob, Mohammad Ahlemcha, Muhammad Nader Hawan, Qari Qudratullah the current secretary of Balkh governor, Ghulam Chambol and etc. These new fighters gave the opportunity to Zabiullah Khan to move his Chiriks (secret fighters) into the city of Balkh, Mazar-I-Sharif.

The Red Army sent a letter addressed to Ustad Zabiullah to come and make an agreement and allow Russia conveys to pass the northern highways and they would give him weapons, money and anything more he wants. Ustad Zabiullah Khan replied to the letter
‘’ You invaded my country, you are killing my innocent people, I will fight until drive you out, and we do not need for those things you offering us’’

Zabiullah was flying mountain to mountain like an eagle with his brave men. He continued his operation with his patriot horsemen force in the Marmol district of Balkh. In 24 hours he drove the Red Army out. The Red Russia Army left the areas. More then three hundreds Red Army soldiers got killed and many tanks and military trucks burned down.

The Communist terrorization regime got weaker day after day. Zabiullah Khan kept his legendary movement against them. The Russia moved all their diplomats from the northern cities. Zabiullah attacked many Russia bases inside of Balkh city and outside. Russia Red Army and Afghanistan pro communist regime left helpless and deteriorated. They could not find any options to overpower Zabiullah Khan’s force, so they planned Ustad Zabiullah Khan’s assassination.

On December 1984 a road bombing which broke every Balkhis patriot’s heart assassinated Ustad Zabiullah Khan. Hearing the death news of their defender, shocked men, women, children, teachers and students in Balkh province. Fortunately the brave patriotic friends kept the forces and the leadership animated and powerful.

Prof, Buharanddin Rabbani and Balkh cultural and politic council appointed Ustad Mohammad Atta Noor as a new Chief military force. Atta Mohammad Noor, the close friend of Zabiullah Khan, kept the army strongly and fought the Red Army in the name of God and his leader Zabiullah Khan. Atta Mohammad, the current governor of Balkh, has always regarding Zabiullah Khan and calls him the warrior and heritage of Balkh history.

Master Zabiullah Khan still lives alive in every heart of Afghanistan’s peace loving people. The patriotic people of Balkh named a Library and a cultural center after him in Balkh city. Every year celebrating his martyrdom anniversary, which the residents cook, rice with meat for thousands. Zabiullah’s fighters under commands of Atta Mohammad Noor ended the Russia invasion and as well as fought Taliban-Qaeda till 2001.

Zabiullah showed the love of a teacher, a teacher who educate people and make them good citizens in their society. Nevertheless he did more than that, beside of teaching, he freed them as well.

Reference:

Movie Documentary (Oqabe Dar Setigh Alborz)

History Book (Tajawoz wa Moqamat)

Author: Akram Andishmand

February 5, 2008

2008-02-05T16:39:00.000-08:00

“Balkh Province Would Support Central Government”

So says General Atta, the current governor of Balkh, in the northern part of Afghanistan.

On Sunday, February 3, 2008, the Kabul Police lifted a brief blockade around the house of the former ethnic Uzbek, Abdul Rashid Dostum, in Kabul. After Dostum’s armed men beat up Akbar Bay, a former ally.

Dozens of police, armed with assault rifles and machine guns mounted on pick-up trucks, surrounded Dostum's house in a comparatively high-class part of Kabul and other officers took up positions on the roofs of neighboring houses. One shot was fired, but it was unclear where it came from. Shortly afterwards, police began to withdraw.
Akbar Bay himself has a checkered past. He spent the years of the Soviet occupation abroad, and in 1989, he was arrested in the United States and later convicted of drug smuggling and tax evasion. He remained in prison until 2003, when he was released and came back to Afghanistan, where he took a key position in Dostum's party, Junbesh-e-Islami.

Akbar Bay shortly after being allied with General Dostum, joined the choir of voices in opposition to him, accusing him murder and other atrocities during the civil war of the early 1990’s, and even claimed he plotted an armed insurrection against the present government.

In about 2005, Dostum’s supporters marched against Akbar Bay in the province of Jawjozjan, Dostum’s birthplace, and burned down Akbar Bay new politic office.

When Kabul Police lifted the blockade around Dostum’s house on February 3rd, one of his spokesmen called it a plot against Dostum and added that “the government is trying to undermine him”, he continued, “the government should know that if it tries to capture Dostum, then seven or eight provinces in the north would turn against the government”. Spokesman Mohammad Alem Sayeh, also a member of parliament, was giving a warning to the central government.

Since General Dostum, the leader of the ethnic Uzbeks had played very important roles in the 1990s, bringing down the last communist regime and later in 2001 pulling out the Taliban, the central government and almost the majority of the political parties felt fear when they heard the spokesman say that about seven or eight provinces would turn against the Karzai government.

The good news for Karzai and his government was General Atta’s last speech. He is the current governor of Balkh province, which is the main center of northern Afghanistan. General Atta Mohammad Noor is known as the most educated governor in Afghanistan. Balkh Province under his leadership is considered one of the most peaceful in the whole of Afghanistan.

Governor Atta, besides calling for a management meeting in his province to demonstrate support for the central government, had an interview this morning February 5, 2008 with BBC Persian news. He said that whatever Dostum’s spokesman talked about on behalf of the northern cities are just their own ideas, and added “Balkh province will support the central government and we do not want any bloodsheds and civil war to be repeating again and our country became as a state of feudalist regime.”

General Atta continued in his interview with BBC, which was less then four minutes. “Politicians kissing feet and hands while they serve in high position of government, although after they are dismissed they immediately turn against the government and start to make threats. Nobody has the right to speak on behalf of northern cities or decide for them. We need national unity and have many different ethnicities that live in every city of northern Afghanistan. I am just a worker who is being hired by the central government and it’s my job to protect the central government.”

Presently Dostum is a strong member of Northern Alliance (United Front), which is lead by Prof. Rabbani, former president of Afghanistan, in opposition to the Karzai government.

2008-01-27T12:51:00.000-08:00

General Atta Mohmamad Noor Supports Women

General Atta Mohammad Noor, governor of Balkh province, opened a UNFPA funded women on women photo exhibition in Mazar on International Women's Day (IWD) on 8 March 2008. He studied the photos and expressed his support for the project by the NGO Pamir in giving women business and photography training.

General Atha Mohammad Noor, in his opening speech, highlighted the importance of important role of women in the reconstruction of the country. He said: “All women should get education and training in modern technology, which will ensure their equal rights to participate in social, economic and political lives in the country, which is essential in ending violence against women.” He emphasized the need and his commitment to end all types of violence against women including child marriage, giving women away in marriage to settle disputes and all other bad traditional practices.

http://afghanistan.unfpa.org/latestnews.html

2008-01-26T21:34:00.000-08:00

1/26/2008

Balkhi Returns To Balkh

Why should I seek? I am the same as
He. His essence speaks through me.
I have been looking for myself!

International ceremony of 800th Anniversary of the birth Maulana Jalaluddin Mohammad Balkhi (Rumi) was held on December 27 in Balkh city northern part of Afghanistan.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has designated 2007 "Year of Rumi" to mark the 800th birth of Afghanistan's philosopher and mystical poet Maulana Jelaluddin Balkh known as Rumi in west. Maulana was born in Afghanistan's Balkh Province on September 30, 1207 to a family of learned theologians. He is one of the greatest spiritual and literary figures of all times. As the most celebrated poet of the Farsi language, Maulana is renowned for his message of love, humanity and peace, and for his founding of the Mawlawia order, better known as the "Whirling Dervishes."

Hundreds of national and International scholars, post, and philosopher came together to celebrate the anniversary in Balkh where Maulana was born. Most of the visitors were foreign such as American, European and Asian. The foreign guests spoke about rebuilding of Maulana original city.

General Atta Mohammad Noor the current governor of Balkh, furthermore a big fan of Maulana explained his cultural development in the ceremony and requested to build a strong association between Mawlana birthplace Balkh and Turkey where Maulna’s grave is.

Maulna’s major work is Masnavi-e Manavi (Spiritual Couplets). Other books: Diwan-e Shams-e Tabriz-i (The Works of Shams of Tabriz - named in honor of Mevlana’s great friend and inspiration), Fihi Ma Fih (In It What's in It), Majalis-i Sab'a (Seven Sessions), Robai’yat (the couplets), Makateb (the written pieces)

2008-01-26T21:25:00.000-08:00

Afghanistan's Northern Province Says No to Poppy

Balkh Afghanistan, June 6, 2007 (ENS) - Muhammad Nazar is busily weeding his cotton fields. Last year at this time, he was engaged in harvesting poppy, but, like many landowners in Balkh province, he has had a change of heart.

"The government has restricted poppy cultivation, and religious leaders have told us that growing poppy is haram [prohibited by Islam]," he said. "We should not go against our religion and the constitution."

As he continued to work, Nazar said, "I hope to get a good harvest, and the government has promised us a good price for cotton."

Balkh province used to be the third largest producer of opium poppy, after Helmand and Kandahar. But this year, the counter-narcotics program has all but rid the province of the illegal crop.

Some farmers, like Nazar, say that they have switched to legitimate farming because of government strictures. But many others give a more pragmatic reason for their decision.

Here, a farmer grows potatoes and poppies in the same field to compare the returns.

"The price of poppy has been going down year by year," said Noor Gul, a farmer in Charbolak, formerly the center of Balkh's poppy cultivation. "We couldn't afford the expense of growing it, so we decided to plant something else instead."

Dealers say that the price of opium has been declining due to overproduction. While in past years, a kilo of opium paste would fetch over US$130 on the local market, it is now worth about half that.

Afghanistan, the world's main source of opium poppy, produced 6,100 kilos of opium paste in 2006, close to 30 percent above world demand, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. This year, production is likely to be even bigger, say government officials.

"We lost a lot of money last year," said Gul. "We spent a lot on poppy, and got too little in return." This year, he has switched to wheat.

Even drug traffickers are having problems. Those who buy up raw paste on the local market to sell on to bigger dealers for export say they cannot make a living out of the trade any more.

"We used to encourage farmers to grow poppy," said one small-time trafficker, who did not want to be named. "I don't know what went wrong this year. I had to sell my poppy at a much lower price [than last year], so I quit. I am doing much better as a shopkeeper."

During a visit to Balkh in mid-May, Interior Minister Zarar Ahmad Muqbal told reporters that the province was now poppy-free.

Afghanistan's Interior Minister Zarar Ahmad Muqbal says that no more opium poppy is grown in Balkh.

"I am grateful to the governor and the people of Balkh that they have reduced poppy cultivation to zero in Balkh province," he said. "This is a big achievement. The government in Balkh worked with the people and convinced them that cultivating poppy is not to their advantage.

"We are going to apply this experience to those provinces that are still growing poppy," Muqbal said, adding that the government would launch development projects to help the people of Balkh province.

The onus will now be on the authorities to prove to farmers that their decision was correct.

"We have a lot of problems," said Nasrullah, a farmer in the Chemtal district. "The irrigation system isn't working, and there is no proper market for our produce. And the government hasn't helped us with seeds or fertilizer."

But he added that there are some signs of progress, "Last winter, the government came to our village and asked us about our problems, and now we see that they are working on reconstructing the dam. So we are hopeful."

Nasrullah warned that there are limits to the farmers' patience. "If the government doesn't fulfill its promises, we will return to poppy," he said. "More than before."

Balkh Governor Atta Muhammad Noor
Atta Muhammad Noor, the governor of Balkh, acknowledged that the government has an obligation to the farmers.

"We have completely eliminated poppy from Balkh," he said. "We have made commitments and we have to keep them. However, the international community and the United States government have made promises to us, and they have not followed through."

William Wood, the newly appointed U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, visited Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of Balkh, on May 13.

United States Ambassador to Afghanistan William Wood was appointed to this post in April 2007.

"According to the statistics, there is no poppy left in Balkh," he told reporters. "We have asked the U.S. Congress to provide generous economic assistance for Balkh as a reward."

Many observers question why, when Balkh is such a success, other provinces remain firmly committed to the poppy trade.

"The case of Balkh indicates that, if the government is serious, there will not be a single poppy plant left in Afghanistan," said Muhammad Nabi Assir, a political analyst in Mazar-e-Sharif. "It is quite incredible. One of the largest poppy-producing areas has completely eliminated the crop. Meanwhile, other provinces are increasing production."

The Balkh experience could be translated to other provinces, he added, if the local governments were so inclined.

But Zalmai Afzali, spokesman for the Ministry of Counter-Narcotics, said that good security is the main cause of Balkh's success, just as instability is the reason why counter-narcotics efforts have failed in places like Helmand, the main opium producing region by a long shot.

Afghani men pick a bumper poppy crop, but not in Balkh.

Helmand has been the scene of major fighting between the resurgent Taliban and foreign backed government troops, which has hampered eradication efforts.

"We have been more successful in Balkh because it there's a lower presence of mafia and insurgents," said Afzali. "We have stopped poppy production there, and we hope to do the same in the other eight provinces in the north."

According to Afzali, the scale of eradication in Afghanistan has almost doubled in the last year - 25,000 hectares had been destroyed, as opposed to 13,000 in 2006.

But this may be more than offset by a surge in poppy cultivation in Helmand, where, according to provincial officials, 20,000 hectares more have been planted with the crop this year compared with 2006.

"If poppy production is high in Afghanistan again this year, it is entirely due to Helmand," said Interior Minister Muqbel. "We have security problems in Helmand and we are going to solve the poppy problem by stabilizing the situation there."

2008-01-26T21:10:00.000-08:00

Ustad Atta Mohammad Noor, governor of Afghanistan's Balkh province,
thanks Coe Elementary
first-grader Zachary Harvey
for a welcome card written in Farsi.
Noor spoke at the school Monday
as part of a cultural exchange project started by Julia Bolz, right.

Project brings Afghan to Seattle schoolhouse

School project makes Afghanistan more real

P-I REPORTER

His message was delivered to a roomful of antsy elementary schoolers, but the words hit home for the adults, too: Education is the key to a better future.

Ustad Atta Mohammad Noor, governor of the Balkh province in Afghanistan, visited Coe Elementary on Monday to address students and teachers who have raised thousands of dollars to help build schools and deliver supplies to his country.

The Taliban, the religious regime that ruled the country until 2001, "closed the doors of education to people," Noor said. Now, people are hopeful about the future, he said, but "education is the only way we can improve democracy and freedom in our country."



General Ata Mohammad Noor, governor of Balkh Province in Afghanistan, speaks to Coe Elementary students during an assembly at the Queen Anne school Monday.

Over the past six years, students and school staff members at Coe and several other Seattle schools have participated in "Journey with an Afghan School," a project to encourage cultural understanding between schools in Afghanistan and America.

"We're not just trying to build structures; we're trying to build bridges of understanding between cultures," said Julia Bolz, a Seattle social-justice advocate and former human rights lawyer who founded the project and who spoke at the assembly Monday.

Coe Elementary was one of the first schools to participate in the project, and students, parents and teachers there raised about $20,000 to help build one of the first girls schools in the Balkh province, and to send four containers of school supplies, athletic gear and other equipment to the region.

Students at Coe and its sister school in Afghanistan have also exchanged photos and pictures, as well as crafts such as quilts and dolls. Some of the items were hung in a display on the side of the stage for Monday's event.

"A lot of the kids said it was really amazing," Coe principal David Elliott said of the all-school assembly.

The event was also a subtle way to show Noor and his delegation that Americans value education and the ties to his country.

"We want to put that (education) in the forefront of his agenda," Elliott said. "He understands that this is something that's important to us."

2008-01-26T21:01:00.000-08:00

Mayor meets with Afghan Governor
Ustad Atta Mohammad Noor

(September 24, 2007)

Mayor Potter on Friday (9/21) met with Ustad Atta Mohammad Noor, governor of Balkh Province in Afghanistan. Governor Atta is an ethnic Tajik and is known as the most educated governor in Afghanistan . Balkh Province under his leadership is considered one of the most peaceful in the country.

Mr. Atta was a schoolteacher prior to the Soviet Union invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. Mr. Atta then became a "freedom fighter" against the Soviet occupation (and later the Taliban and Al-Qaeda) as a commander of the "Northern Alliance.''While the United Nations and Human Rights Watch have accused other former commanders of human rights abuses, no such allegations have ever been levied against him.

Governor Atta is an outspoken advocate for women’s rights including ending all types of violence against women and supporting women as a key resource in the development and reconstruction of the country.

http://www.portlandonline.com/MAYOR/index.cfm?a=bgjeei&c=egcee

2008-01-25T05:15:00.000-08:00

بلخ مظلوم ترین ولایت
افغانستان

بلخ یکی ازبزرگترین و کهن ترین شهر های آریانا کهن، خراسان دیروز و افغانستان امروز است و همچنان مهد علم و دانش و خاستگاه مشایخ، شعرا و دانشمندان بزرگ منطقه و جهان بوده است که مولانا جلال الدین محمد بلخی، ابو علی ابن سینای بلخی، رابعه بلخی ،امیر خسرو بلخی را طور نمونه ذکر مینمایم و همچنان پایگاه و بستر پرورش شجاعت و مردانه گی و شهزاده گانی بوده که خاطرات شان تا به حال زنده است، ولی امروز به یکی از مظلوم ترین
و محروم ترین شهر افغانستان تبدیل شده است. چرا؟

آتش سوزی امروزدر بلخ را میتوان یک سؤ قصد و فاجعه ملی نامید که هزاران انسان را به ماتم نشاندو نفقه روزگار شانرا از آنها گرفت و میلیونها دالر خساره وارد شد .

Balkh City on Fire

Central of Balkh province Mazar-I-Sharif city faced a terrible day when a largest eight floors marked went on fire yesterday January 14.

The fire happened early morning and went off around 11 o’clock after nothing encompass left in the whole eight floors market. The western style-clothing shopkeeper had told the media that they have lost millions of dollars.

Police and National Security started investigating. Still it’s not clear how or who started the fire. People think that the terrorist might plan it since they shops were all selling western style women clothing.
four Hundred shops nowhere to be found by the shocking heavy fire.