Reconstruction for ex-Taliban stronghold

PASHMUL – Nato nations are poised to pour more than a million dollars into rebuilding a one-time Taliban stronghold in Afghanistan to cement their military success against the rebels.

The plan for the Panjwayi-Pashmul area, where Nato’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) says it has routed Taliban fighters, is a test case for strategy to use development to defeat the Taliban-led insurgency. “We’ll start our reconstruction work from next week,” said the governor of Kandahar province, Assadullah Khalid, during a ceremony in Pashmul on Friday where ISAF symbolically handed over three tractors from 50 ready for use.When ISAF launched Operation Medusa on rebels entrenching themselves in the Panjwayi area about 35 kilometres west of the city of Kandahar it said the aim was to push on development.”The goal is to remove the Taliban threat from Panjwayi and stabilise the district so that much-needed reconstruction and development projects can resume,” it said in a statement early this month.The alliance wants to use Panjwayi as a showcase for its policy of development in the south, the birthplace of the Taliban and a region relatively neglected since their ouster from government in 2001.Before the operation even started, the force ordered about 275 000 dollars in emergency relief from the United States, including food, clothes, cooking oil and water, said US Colonel Richard Williams, deputy ISAF commander in the south.Another 275 000 dollars were ordered to buy tractors for the farmers, he said.”So we have two or three … tractors per village area.The tribal elders will decide who uses the tractors,” Williams said.Reconstruction would begin soon, ISAF spokesman Mark Laity said last week, 1.3 million dollars promised by Germany.The governor said authorities would consult with village shuras, or councils, about smaller development projects of under 5 000 dollars.The people, however, are sceptical.Nampa-AFP”We’ll start our reconstruction work from next week,” said the governor of Kandahar province, Assadullah Khalid, during a ceremony in Pashmul on Friday where ISAF symbolically handed over three tractors from 50 ready for use.When ISAF launched Operation Medusa on rebels entrenching themselves in the Panjwayi area about 35 kilometres west of the city of Kandahar it said the aim was to push on development.”The goal is to remove the Taliban threat from Panjwayi and stabilise the district so that much-needed reconstruction and development projects can resume,” it said in a statement early this month.The alliance wants to use Panjwayi as a showcase for its policy of development in the south, the birthplace of the Taliban and a region relatively neglected since their ouster from government in 2001.Before the operation even started, the force ordered about 275 000 dollars in emergency relief from the United States, including food, clothes, cooking oil and water, said US Colonel Richard Williams, deputy ISAF commander in the south.Another 275 000 dollars were ordered to buy tractors for the farmers, he said.”So we have two or three … tractors per village area.The tribal elders will decide who uses the tractors,” Williams said.Reconstruction would begin soon, ISAF spokesman Mark Laity said last week, 1.3 million dollars promised by Germany.The governor said authorities would consult with village shuras, or councils, about smaller development projects of under 5 000 dollars.The people, however, are sceptical.Nampa-AFP