Terrorism

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:

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

“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.

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

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)

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."

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."