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By Vipul Vivek

The monarchy of Bhutan has remained the biggest beneficiary -- by amount and share -- of Indian foreign aid for 17 years, but over the last nine years, Afghanistan has made it to the distant second spot, preferred over traditional recipients Nepal and Bangladesh, according to an IndiaSpend analysis of Indian foreign ministry data.

Although its share of foreign aid is falling and that of African countries, listed as a group, is growing, Bhutan has remained India's unfailing priority because of its strategic location, its dependence on India and its hydropower potential. Indian aid to Sri Lanka and the Maldives increased fastest, according to aid data between the financial years 2000-01 and 2016-17.

However, the averages over this period conceal substantial fluctuations in aid. For instance, while aid to Sri Lanka fell 69 per cent year-on-year in 2016-17, it rose 118 per cent and 166 per cent in 2012-13 and 2009-10. Similarly, while aid to the Maldives rose 45 per cent in 2016-17, it dropped 89 per cent in 2012-13 after rising nearly 25 times in the previous year.

Among the countries to have benefited most by India's reallocation of aid is Afghanistan.

In eight of last 10 years, Afghanistan makes it to second spot

Before 2007-08, the foreign ministry did not even individually report aid for Afghanistan . Since then, it has been the second biggest beneficiary, by share,in eight of the following 10 years.

In the pre-2007-08 period, Nepal was the second-largest recipient in all years except three, when Bangladesh held that position. Over the 17 years we analysed, Afghanistan received the least aid of the 12 major regions reported by the ministry, the allocation shrinking more than a quarter by amount.

Among regions for which the ministry reports data as a group, African countries are the only significant beneficiaries: India's aid grew 57 times between 2000-01 and 2016-17, rising 4.38 percentage points over the same period. African countries, as a group, were the second biggest beneficiary in 2003-04 and 2004-05 among all regions, countries as well as groups of countries, taken together.

The only constant in this story is Bhutan, but other countries in other regions have been eating into its share at a time when questions are being raised about India's policy of aid to Bhutan's hydropower sector. By change in share over the 17 years, it is better only than Afghanistan, with Bhutan's aid having fallen by 10.45 percentage points.

(In arrangement with IndiaSpend.org, a data-driven, non-profit, public interest journalism platform, with whom Vipul Vivek is an analyst. The views expressed are those of IndiaSpend. Feedback at respond@indiaspend.org)

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Afghanistan, Africa new priorities, but a small monarchy remains India's top foreign-aid priority - Economic Times

From the first day, Kabul pragmatically wished to be a part of two Chinese regional projects the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative and the China-Pakistan Energy Corridor (CPEC). Firstly and historically, Afghanistan considered itself as a transshipment point of commerce, where half of the old worlds roads lead to Bagram [Near Kabul], as prominent historians Louis Dupree and Arnold Toynbee put it. Basically, the foundation of the Silk Road was laid when the prominent and most adventurous of ambassadors Zhang Qian visited Balkh, a northern Afghan province, to get help from Yue-Chi (The Kushans) against the Huing-Yu tribes in China. Although he wasnt able to get Yue-Chis support, in returning to China he advised the Hun Emperor of starting trade with the East.

Secondly, in the past decade and a half, Kabul has pushed for regional integration. In the period since 1980, it has tried to get full membership or observer status in regional economic, security and political organizations such as the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Central Asia Regional Cooperation Program (CAREC), Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), and Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and most recently in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). To make progress on transnational projects it initiated the Regional Economic Cooperation Conference for Afghanistan (RECCA) in 2005 which until now has held six conferences. Moreover, in order to promote regionalism in Afghan foreign policy and to lead, coordinate and facilitate regional initiatives, processes and organization to which Afghanistan is a part, Kabul established a Regional Cooperation Directorate in the Afghan foreign ministry in 2011. The Lapis Lazuli Corridor, Five Nations Railway Line, and various gas pipeline projects fit well into Chinas regional strategy and the OBOR initiative.

Thirdly, according to a high profile diplomat in the Afghan foreign ministry in a meeting with the Vice President of China, Ashraf Ghani said that among China, Afghanistan and Pakistan, Kabul prefers economics over politics and security.

Lastly, domestic Afghan infrastructure projects such as the Afghan Railway Network, developing untapped mineral resources, and the National Afghan ring road correlate with Beijings OBOR.

Extending CPEC to Afghanistan

The former Afghan ambassador to Pakistan, Janan Musazai, and the present ambassador Omar Zakhilwal have already extended supported for the China-Pakistan Energy Corridor (CPEC) and showed interest of joining it. Both the Pakistani military and civilian administration also seems positive when it comes to extending CPEC to Afghanistan. The problem isnt the positive intentions or formal support, but the absence of the debate as to how to extend CPEC into Afghanistan.

If we look into CPEC, it has four main components: Transit and trade, infrastructure, energy cooperation, and economic integration. Afghanistan can be helpful when it comes to all these components. In order to connect Central Asia and Afghanistan with CPEC the following steps, among others, can be taken:

First, the renewal of the expired Afghanistan Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA). The Central Asian countries bordering Afghanistan and beyond should be included. The inclusion of India, as well, may make an OBOR-supporter of New Delhi. China should also become a part of APTTA, because currently there is no direct route between Afghanistan and China. Afghan transit to and from China should be discussed via the Pakistani Karakoram Highway. Afghan exports to China via the Sino-Afghan Special Railway were stopped due to the absence of a transit agreement with Uzbekistan.

Second, building a trans-Hindukush Motorway and Railway line to Central Asia would link Afghanistan into Chinas regional network. It would diffuse CPEC into the Asian Development Banks CAREC project, a great sign for the region. Both China and Pakistan should support this. Moreover, a railway line from Mes Aynak to Torkham which was initially agreed upon by Chinese Company could also be included into CPEC.

Third, Afghanistan has huge potential to produce and transit energy. According to some estimates, Afghanistan has the potential to produce 223,000 MW of solar energy, 23,000 MW hydropower energy, 68,000 MW of wind energy. But, despite this potential, only 41 percent of Afghans have access to electricity; and the country produces less than 2,000 MWs of electricity. It is thus heavily reliant on importing electricity to fill the demand gap. From 2007-2015, Afghanistan imported electricity at a cost of $973 million.

Pakistan is also facing an energy deficit. Currently the electricity shortfall is greater than 6,000 MWs. So it needs either to produce energy at home or import it in via the planned CASA-1000 network or the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan electricity transmission line (TAP-500v). China, Pakistan and Afghanistan have already agreed to cooperate in making a hydroelectric dam on the Kunar river in the Kabul river basin. According to the estimates of the Afghan inter-ministerial energy commission, the Kabul river basin can produce more than 2,800 MWs of electricity annually. The Chinese investment, and mediation in a water-sharing agreement between Pakistan and Afghanistan is crucial before anything else. Since 2006, both Afghanistan and Pakistan, with the help of World Bank, failed twice to sign a water sharing agreement.

Projects involving Afghanistan such as TAPI, CASA-1000, TAP-500v, TUTAP and various road and rail projects can become a part of CPEC if the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the Bank of China, the Chinese Development Bank and the Silk Road Fund financially contribute to them.

Extending of CPEC into Afghanistan may also be helpful when it comes to decreasing religious and nationalists parties based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan, both of which border Afghanistan. The CPEC route initially passed through FATA and KP province, a the western route. By changing the route of CPEC these Pakistani political parties argue they are being isolated and deprived.

The inclusion of Afghanistan into CPEC will also be helpful when it comes to transforming the region from a hotbed of terrorism, extremism and separatism or the three evils, as identified by Beijing, into a more prosperous region. Although, economics isnt considered as the main driver of the three evils, it surely is a factor to be reckoned with.

Integrating Afghanistan into OBOR

The primary steps to include and integrate Afghanistan into OBOR have already been taken. Afghanistan and China signed an MoU on OBOR last year, and according to an IMF report, Beijing has allocated some money to Afghanistan from the OBOR fund. Furthermore, Afghanistan recently joined the AIIB. But nothing has surfaced practically. The connection between the OBOR and Afghanistan requires taking several steps.

First, integrating Afghan domestic infrastructure projects into OBOR. For instance, the northern zone of the Afghan Railway Network in which the Afghan government wants to build a railway line starting at Sher Khan port on the Panj river, passing from Kunduz to Mazar-e-Sharif and then to Aquina-Herat. This would also pave the way for the Five Nations Railway Corridor between China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Iran and could thus link into OBOR in Central Asia.

Second, the Lapis Lazuli Transit, Trade and Transport Route between Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey should become a part of OBOR. This corridor already has at least partially improved road, rail and sea infrastructure and transit procedures. The OBOR passes through many of these countries. The addition of China to the Lapis Lazuli route will latch OBOR onto an existing process of regional integration regarding transit and trade procedures between these five countries.

Third, the Indian project at Chabahar port in Iran should be seen as complementary to OBOR (as argued in a previous article for The Diplomat) because it would improve infrastructure in the region through which OBOR would pass. Moreover, Chabahar port is neither a military port, nor would it directly and indirectly affect CPEC.

Fourth, a feasibility study of the TATC (Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and China) energy pipeline should begin and explore making it a part of OBOR. Currently there is an MoU between the Afghan government and a Chinese company for the project. There is also another project under way to export Afghan gas to Tajikistan, Turkmenistan has also taken interest. It may pave the way for TATC. Moreover, post-nuclear sanction Iran may be interested in a pipeline across Afghanistan, with China the ultimate destination. A Chinese company has also taken interest into this, but with no additional steps taken.

Fifth, incomplete Chinese projects such as Mes Aynak and Amu Basin Oil contracts should also be included into OBOR and completed.

The fusion of CPEC, CAREC and OBOR (especially the mainland route: The Silk Road Economic Belt), would not only make Afghanistan a land bridge between Central Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and China but would also be in accordance with the U.S. New Silk Road Initiative. Hence, connecting CPEC and OBOR with Afghanistan would also pave the way for possible coordination and cooperation between China and the United States in Afghanistan as well.

However, the taunting question whether it is possible depends upon the security policies of Afghanistan and Pakistan. There is no doubt on the possibility of the above outline, but the probability of it all happening is a concern. Implementation is another worrisome piece of the puzzle. Currently, there are many agreements between Afghanistan and Pakistan, such as APTTA which isnt fully implemented, that now and then become the victims of strained bilateral relations. The absence of conflict resolution procedures is another factor which increases the trust deficit between Afghanistan and Pakistan. According to an Afghan realist Halimullah Kousary, China should take the lead and play a leadership role. CPEC and OBOR with Afghan involvement could become a rust booster between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Ahmad Bilal Khalil is a researcher at the Center for Strategic and Regional Studies, Kabul (csrskabul). He follows Afghan foreign policy, Islamists, regional geopolitical and geoeconomic matters, and Kabuls relations with its neighbors (especially China, Pakistan, and India). He is the lead researcher of CSRS report Afghanistan in the last one and a half decade and is the author of upcoming book on Sino-Afghan relations: 1955-2017 in Pashto. He tweets at @abilalkhalil

Read more here:
Linking Afghanistan to China's Belt and Road - The Diplomat

EDUCATION is something most Aussies take for granted.

But for girls and women growing up in Afghanistan the simple act of learning - or showing their face in public - can get them killed.

It's been 18 years since Samira Nazar and her family fled the war-torn south-central Asian country but the memories of the Taliban's oppressive misogynistic brutality are still strong for the 29-year-old woman.

"You see your mum, your aunts, every woman around you being oppressed," Samira recalls as she reveals the simple act of shopping was enough to end in public retribution.

"There were guns everywhere, they (the soldiers) would threaten people.

"If you go shopping you want to see what you're buying. You need to see it and feel it and as a woman you can't uncover your face to see something properly.

"If you did you would get punished. They would hit you.

"I saw my mum hit from behind with a stick because she lifted her veil to see fabric at the market.

"The extreme way of punishing women was to take them to a sports stadium where they would stone women."

When Samira was 11, her mother Nasrin and her father Shukoor decided to risk everything by fleeing Afghanistan with their three children.

The Nazars believed a good education was the one thing all their children deserved and they knew they had no hope of giving their daughters that if they stayed in a country where learning could lead to state-sanctioned murder.

"It was not acceptable for my parents to see us grow up without education," Samira says of the impetus behind their flight for life.

"It was a definitely a risk for them to take, but to take us to a safe place and get access to education they needed to take those risks."

Samira and her family eventually settled in Austria as refugees.

"My parents encouraged us to embrace our new home and our new language," she says.

"They encouraged us to get used to it and to have Austrian friends and that was the key to why we were able to adapt to our new environment very easily.

"We just wanted to do well and that has contributed to a better life for us."

Samira completed her normal schooling at 16 and, instead of just settling for a job in a local factory or as a waitress, she enrolled in a German language school with the aim of going on to study business.

She travelled 100km a day to attend classes, driven to succeed by the incredible sacrifices made by her parents.

"The risk they took is one of the things that defines me - it has helped me to achieve, to help me takes my own risks and to say 'Yes' to hard things," she says, revealing that learning in a language that was not her native tongue was one of the hardest, but most satisfying, things she has done.

"I believe that language is a door opener to culture and to people."

Now fluent in four languages and with a resume that lists CSIRO, Microsoft and Fujitsu, the University of Queensland Business School academic has her sights set on completing a PhD with a focus on social impact and sustainability.

"Businesses have a major influence on our society, so if you want to create change it is good to start with businesses and that is why I am wanting to complete my PhD at UQ Business School," she says.

"We're surrounded by so many things like climate change and social and political unrest.

"I think as we educate businesses and help them make the right decisions then we will also help the wider community.

"A lot of businesses would like to leave a legacy but they just don't know how and I believe that I can help them to make the right decisions and consider their stakeholders in an ethical way."

As Samira moves towards her dream of changing the world one corporation at a time, she knows that no matter what she achieves she will be helping to pay forward the incredible sacrifices her parents made so she could be free to learn.

"Giving up is a not an option for me," she says.

"I hope to inspire others who are in a similar situation to mine." - ARM NEWSDESK

Here is the original post:
From Afghanistan to Australia, Samira speaks language of success - Chinchilla News

Memories of Afghan children, gaunt and pale with cancer, still haunt Ehsan Bayat.

Even now, all these miles and all these years removed from the Kabul hospital ward, thoughts of them bring tears to his eyes.

What they remind him, what they continue to teach Bayat is the never-ending, extreme need in Afghanistan, where fighting between government forces and the Taliban often devastates civilian communities.

Those children suffered without pain medication, without treatment, Bayat said. Doctors begged him and his wife, Fatema, to supply medicine to the childrens cancer ward. He knows situations like that or even worse in the suburbs and provinces outside Afghanistans capital city are not uncommon.

But, the Bayats have done more than just provide medicine. Ehsan and Fatema Bayat, who live in Ponte Vedra, have built or refurbished 13 maternity hospitals throughout Afghanistan, providing medical care to more than 2 million women and children.

They dont do it alone.

More than a decade ago, the Bayats established a foundation to nourish the lives of Afghans, and so doctors in Afghanistan now recognize just whom they are asking when they seek more medicine, more supplies or more equipment.

The foundation also built schools, supplied clean drinking water to isolated areas, and has given clothing, food and blankets to people in need.

Now, it has sights set on building a maternity and surgical hospital to assist in childbirth and any complications arising from delivery. The center will also diagnose cervical and breast cancer, as well as correct obstetric fistulas, a common problem Afghan women face after giving birth. The facility will be the 14th hospital the Bayat Foundation has built and it has been in the planning stages for approximately two years.

The state-of-the-art facility in Kabul is finally coming to fruition.

Theres a need for this. Some cities have very little help, Fatema Bayat said. We want to be a voice of hope. We want to keep Afghanistan relevant.

According to the Afghanistan Ministry of Public Health, more than 50 percent of pregnant women do not have access to essential health services and more than 50 percent of the births take place without nursing facilities. As a result, both women and infants lose their lives. The country had the second highest infant mortality rate in the world in 2015 and has seen an increasing amount of women die during childbirth. With proper access to health care, these deaths are preventable.

So this Friday, The Bayat Foundation plans to hold the Nourish so They May Flourish fundraising gala at the Ponte Vedra Inn and Club.

Serving Afghans has been, and always will be, the heart of our mission, Fatema Bayat said. The funds we raise from the gala will help expand the foundations efforts to improve the quality of life for Afghan families.

The event will highlight the contributions made by the foundation toward improving the health, literacy and economic development of Afghan families and as the Afghanistans largest, private nonprofit dedicated to health and education, there have been many. Mostly, however, the gala will foster partnerships between the Bayat Foundation and several organizations helping in the construction of the new maternity hospital, as well as raise money for the project.

Every little bit here means a lot on the other side, Ehsan Bayat said. Theres no boundary for when you want to do something for someone who is really in need, but in Afghanistan, theres so much need.

As a child, Ehsan Bayat lived in Afghanistan. There, his father ran an import-export business and young Ehsan attended a private school. But, communists imprisoned his father during a 1978 revolt that overthrew the Afghanistan republic. A year later, when the Soviet Union invaded, they released his father. The family fled the country.

Ehsan Bayat was 18. It was 1981 and he found himself in New York City with nothing but his dedicated, determined attitude. After a friend told him about the First Coast, Ehsan Bayat moved to Ponte Vedra with his wife and three daughters. He now owns several successful businesses, including the first and largest mobile phone company in Afghanistan.

We take things for granted here, Ehsan Bayat said. You appreciate what god has given you so why not give some back?

Over the last 11 years, the Bayat Foundation has completed approximately 300 projects, including a partnership with the Starkey Hearing Foundation to provide hearing aids to 5,000 Afghan men and women. Theyve built or refurbished countless schools; constructed dormitories, gymnasiums and sports fields; and clothed and fed orphanages. Millions of books have been distributed throughout Afghanistan by the Bayats. In 2002, fewer than 800,000 children attended school and the vast majority of those were male students.

Now, females are allowed, in some cases, to acquire an education. While the education system still needs aid, more than 9 million children are now enrolled in schools. An estimated 39 percent are female, according to World Education News and Reviews. The organization does say data out of Afghanistan could be misleading, as it calculates students both present and absent. It acknowledges many children are enrolled, but not attending.

We have real emphasis on improvement and knowledge, Ehsan Bayat said. You help build a person and then, millions of people together can change the country.

That, he said, is the goal of the Bayat Foundation.

^

Amanda Williamson: (904) 359-4665

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Ponte Vedra nonprofit to build its 14th hospital in Afghanistan - Florida Times-Union

Updated April 22, 2017 08:19:46

American commanders in Afghanistan are not saying how many Islamic State fighters died when the largest conventional bomb in history was dropped on their hideouts last week but experts say it, like the missile strike in Syria, points to an American president more willing to intervene abroad.

American troops reached the bomb site a day after last Friday's detonation, but have not confirmed reports that between 90 and 100 IS fighters were killed.

US military spokesman Captain Bill Salvin said "access has been restricted ... because it's a combat zone".

In a statement, he said that the US had "high confidence" no civilians were harmed.

Kate Clark, director of the independent Afghan Analysts' network, said there had been an "information blackout" from Achin, the IS controlled part of Nangarhar province, for some time.

"Journalists haven't been able to reach there because of the IS control and the threats to them, even local elders, they'd fled," Ms Clark said.

IS, she said, was capitalising on the official silence.

"IS, Daesh locally, have been bullish about the attack, they claim that they didn't lose anyone.

"It may be that this actually helps their recruitment."

The bomb's fallout for Donald Trump is being assessed in foreign policy circles.

William H Avery, a former American diplomat who has served in and written about South Asia, said the action was consistent with the President's promise to target IS.

"I think he is following up on campaign promises, leaving America first to one side for a moment he did say that the wanted to bomb the hell out of ISIS," he said.

The New York Times has reported that America's military commander in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson, did not ask the President for permission to drop the bomb.

Ms Clark said Mr Trump had promised "to take the gloves off his military".

What is still unclear though, she said, is what he will do on the ground.

"One of the things he said on Twitter is 'why should we support people who hate us?'," Ms Clark said.

That has prompted many to speculate Mr Trump would end the "nation building" aspect to America's support for Afghanistan.

This week Mr Trump's national security adviser, Lieutenant General HR McMaster, visited Afghanistan and told local television network Tolo that America was committed long-term.

"What's critical is the strengthening of Afghan security institutions, the army and the police," said Lt General McMaster, an Afghanistan veteran.

"So what can we do together, with the national unity government leaders and the ministries to strengthen those institutions?

"Provide them with better support, with the continuing commitment of the United States to back them up on the battlefield."

The big question is whether President Trump will agree to his generals' request for more boots on the ground there.

America currently has 8,400 troops in Afghanistan, bolstered by an additional 5,000 NATO personnel.

Military leaders are pressing for "several thousand" more.

Agreeing carries obvious risks for a President who campaigned on Americans' fatigue with long-running conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq.

But analysts say President Trump's recent moves indicate he appears less willing to abandon the fight.

Ms Clark says reports of renewed Russian interest in Afghanistan will also likely factor into his decision.

"The thing about Afghanistan is for well over a century, its main attraction has been for countries who don't want someone else to control it," she said.

Mr Avery said concern over Russian influence was heightened following the Russians' defence of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad following the chemical attack in Syria.

He believes that would give the President more reason to stay the course in Afghanistan.

"I think you will see a willingness to get involved, to use US military might," he said.

"The Trump administration would make the case that that isn't in contradiction with 'America First' principles, but is really supporting them."

Topics: donald-trump, person, foreign-affairs, government-and-politics, unrest-conflict-and-war, afghanistan

First posted April 22, 2017 05:53:46

Link:
Donald Trump's Afghanistan 'mother of all bombs' shows US President's interventionist side, experts say - ABC Online