27 May 2001
The Times of India
NRI in house? Tell cops, or go to jail
By Siddharth Varadarajan
The Times of India News Service
NEW DELHI: If your NRI relatives are foreign citizens and you fail to inform the police about their presence when they stay at your house, you could well be imprisoned for five years. So could businessmen who meet with foreign counterparts on their own premises without reporting the matter to the local thana.
Even as India prides itself on being an open, liberal and democratic society, an anachronistic law is being revived which will turn tens of thousands of citizens into criminals for allowing foreigners into their homes and offices without informing the authorities.
On Thursday, the Ministry of Home Affairs (Foreigners Division) ran a small advertisement in some local dailies with the ominous title, `Intimation Regarding Presence of Foreigners'.
It read: ``This is for the information of General Public that as per the Foreigners (Report to Police) Order, 1971, made under the Foreigners Act, 1946, every householder or other person shall report to the officer-in-charge of the nearest police station the arrival or presence in his household or in any premises occupied by him or under his control of any foreigner, if he knows or has reasons to believe that he is a foreigner. Non-compliance of this order would attract
punitive action under the Foreigners Act, 1946, i.e. imprisonment up to a period of five years or with fine or both''.
This 1971 order is being ``reiterated in order to inform people that its enforcement will be more stringent with a view to curbing overstaying and illegal immigration'', home ministry spokesman PD Shenoy told The Times of India. ``We have to be able to act against visitors from certain countries inimical to our national interests'', he added.
However, neither Shenoy nor Pravin Srivastava, joint secretary in the MHA's foreigners division, was able to explain why such a catch-all order was necessary when under existing rules, visitors from specific countries - such as Pakistan and Bangladesh - must report to local police stations.
When TOI faxed Srivastava pointing out that the 1971 order criminalises familial and professional relationships between Indians and foreigners and doesn't even specify how long a foreigner must stay at a given location before the police must be informed, the MHA scrambled to cover its flanks.
Shenoy later offered the following clarification: ``Casual visits by foreigners to someone's home or office need not be reported. A cup of tea, meals, business meeting, even a day-long visit is fine. But if an overnight stay is involved, the police must be told'', he said.
Shenoy said the MHA would issue a press note clarifying the order. When asked, he said the formal 1971 order would also be suitably modified. However, these modifications will not take the sting out of an order that is illiberal and easy to abuse. An NRI with a foreign passport who stays in the homes of several relatives would run the risk of sending them to jail if the police were not informed each night. The Indian friends of an American professor would now have to think twice if their guest wants to stay the night after a late dinner. ``All in all'', said G Parthasarathy, former Indian ambassador to Pakistan, ``this order is an absurd and
unwarranted intrusion into the privacy of Indian citizens''.
Foreigners' law in national interest: Ministry
The Times of India News Service
NEW DELHI: Reacting to criticism of the controversial Foreigners (Report
to Police) Order, 1971, the Union home ministry said on Friday that the
rule is being enforced "in the interest of national security".
The order, made public through newspaper advertisements earlier in the
week, makes it mandatory for individuals, families, hotels and guest
houses hosting foreign citizens for more than 24 hours to inform police
about the guests.
The ministry spokesperson said that while the law would not be applicable
to Non-Resident Indians who still hold Indian passports, NRIs who have
foreign passports would come under its ambit.
"It is to deter the illegal entry of foreigners into the country. There
has been an influx of a large number of foreigners into the country -
particularly from Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Pakistan - over the last
few years. Many of them have overstayed, burdening the economy. Some of
them have been indulging in subversive activities too," the official said.
Asked about the immediate provocation for the order, the spokesperson
merely said, "such orders are issued from time to time" to bring it to the
notice of public at large and "to ensure that security agencies are alert
about it".
"As a host, one would not have to physically present oneself at a police
station. Information could be registered over a telephone," the official
said.
POSTSCRIPT
4 September 2001
The Times of India
Govt modifies order on foreigners
Times New Network
New Delhi: The Union home ministry has reviewed the controversial Foreigners (Report to Police) Order, 1971, and decided there is no legal obligation for citizens to inform the police, whenever foreigners visit or stay in their homes.
The home ministry's determination to enforce the 1971 order first reported in the Times of India two months ago had evoked widespread criticism from NRIs and others concerned about infringement of civil liberties. the ministry of external affairs had also expressed unhappiness at the revival of what, it felt, was an anachronistic order.
``Following protests in the media, the home ministry reconsidered the order and recently renotified the amended order,'' special secretary and home ministry spokesman P D Shenoy said here on Tuesday. ``Under the new order, citizens are not expected to inform the police if they have a foreign guest staying overnight at their residence. however, if somebody does not have a valid travel document or has overstayed in the country - in other words, is an illegal entrant - then the host must inform the police.''
In the immediate aftermath of this paper's report, ministry officials had said it would be amended to apply only to visitors from Pakistan and Bangladesh. but critics had said that even this amounted to an unfair burden on the Indian hosts.
27 March 2001
25 March 2001
Inside the Taliban: Want to have fun? Enjoy the weather...
25 March 2001
The Times of India
INSIDE TALIBAN COUNTRY - III
Have fun in Afghanistan? Enjoy the weather...
By Siddharth Varadarajan
KANDAHAR: In any major Afghan town, you can be sure to find three kinds of shops on every street: a pharmacy, a stationery store and a photo studio.
In a country that has been through 20 years of war, it makes sense to have lots of pharmacies. As for stationery, girls and women may not be allowed to study but there are clearly enough males out there buying notebooks and pens. But in a country where photography is banned - except when official documents require a picture protrait - why on earth does one require so many photo studios?
The Taliban may have decreed that photography is un-Islamic but old habits die hard. People still take photographs of their family, especially during weddings, said the owner of one photo studio here. "Officially, our shop is only meant to take passport-size photographs for official documents," he said. "But selling films is our main business". Processing films can be more problematic, and risky.
In Kabul, one studio keeps its customers' prints under a couch. Here in the south, people send their snapshots across the border to Quetta for developing.
Though having fun-or just living what the average Afghan considers to be a normal life-can entail serious risks, people here have not abandoned their love for music and films, especially from Bollywood.
During the 6-hour journey from Torkham to Kabul, my taxi driver played a tape of Raja Hindustani 10 times. Taking more than a couple of cassettes on the highway is risky since they have to be secreted away in some hidden crevice of the car each time a checkpost of the Vice and Virtue police draws near. At one place, our taxi was given a thorough inspection and the driver frisked. Had the offending tape been found, he would have been lokced up for five days. As mere co-conspirators, we passengers would have gotten off lighter - Vice and Virtue would only have shaved our heads.
I asked Qudratullah Jamal, the Taliban's culture minister, what people could do for fun and entertainment in a country where music, cinema, TV, photography, dancing, painting and flying kites are all illegal? "Why", he said, clearly surprised by my ignorance, "there are many, many things to do for entertainment. People can enjoy the weather in Afghanistan. The climate here is very different. When you compare it with other countries, it is much better".
As an afterthought, he added: "We allow sports. There is football, volleyball and horse-riding for boys".
And what about the girls, I asked. "We have approved a budget to build parks for entertainment for boys", he replied. And for girls? "The Islamic circle is not limited. It has given rights to everyone, to boys." And the girls, I persist. "Isn't it healthy that they should also have some entertainment and sports?" Qudratullah was losing his patience by now. "If we are to ask Afghan women, their problems have been solved. You cannot compare Afghanistan to other countries. The women of Afghanistan reject those things which are against Islam. It is the demand of Islam that women should live their lives according to the principles of Islam".
Abdul Hai Mutmaeen, spokesman of Mullah Mohammad Omar, was prepared to be more liberal. "Anything which does not affect the moral character of women is allowed by us," he declared grandly. Asked to give examples of what was permitted, he said: "During weddings, women can play the dayra (a small round drum). But we don't allow the dhol (a larger drum) as this is immoral and against Islam".
I told Mutmaeen that I had heard Hindi films are very popular and that Afghan women seem to like Shahrukh Khan a lot. (A Western aid worker who attended a wedding in Kabul recently had told me she was impressed with the way the girls danced "just in Hindi movies", but I decided not to bring this up). "During the communist days, these Indian movies were shown here. Today nobody wants to see them." But even young people seem to know about the latest releases, I said. Surely they must still be watching. "No", said Mutmaeen. "The Rabbani government had also shown these movies before 1996. They must remember things from those days. But don't worry. We are in the process of repairing peoples' consciousness".
At the end of interview, I asked Mutmaeen whether he had ever seen a Hindi movie during the long years he spent in exile in Pakistan. "Certainly not", he said. "I was busy studying in different madrassas. There was no time for such things."
The Times of India
INSIDE TALIBAN COUNTRY - III
Have fun in Afghanistan? Enjoy the weather...
By Siddharth Varadarajan
KANDAHAR: In any major Afghan town, you can be sure to find three kinds of shops on every street: a pharmacy, a stationery store and a photo studio.
In a country that has been through 20 years of war, it makes sense to have lots of pharmacies. As for stationery, girls and women may not be allowed to study but there are clearly enough males out there buying notebooks and pens. But in a country where photography is banned - except when official documents require a picture protrait - why on earth does one require so many photo studios?
The Taliban may have decreed that photography is un-Islamic but old habits die hard. People still take photographs of their family, especially during weddings, said the owner of one photo studio here. "Officially, our shop is only meant to take passport-size photographs for official documents," he said. "But selling films is our main business". Processing films can be more problematic, and risky.
In Kabul, one studio keeps its customers' prints under a couch. Here in the south, people send their snapshots across the border to Quetta for developing.
Though having fun-or just living what the average Afghan considers to be a normal life-can entail serious risks, people here have not abandoned their love for music and films, especially from Bollywood.
During the 6-hour journey from Torkham to Kabul, my taxi driver played a tape of Raja Hindustani 10 times. Taking more than a couple of cassettes on the highway is risky since they have to be secreted away in some hidden crevice of the car each time a checkpost of the Vice and Virtue police draws near. At one place, our taxi was given a thorough inspection and the driver frisked. Had the offending tape been found, he would have been lokced up for five days. As mere co-conspirators, we passengers would have gotten off lighter - Vice and Virtue would only have shaved our heads.
I asked Qudratullah Jamal, the Taliban's culture minister, what people could do for fun and entertainment in a country where music, cinema, TV, photography, dancing, painting and flying kites are all illegal? "Why", he said, clearly surprised by my ignorance, "there are many, many things to do for entertainment. People can enjoy the weather in Afghanistan. The climate here is very different. When you compare it with other countries, it is much better".
As an afterthought, he added: "We allow sports. There is football, volleyball and horse-riding for boys".
And what about the girls, I asked. "We have approved a budget to build parks for entertainment for boys", he replied. And for girls? "The Islamic circle is not limited. It has given rights to everyone, to boys." And the girls, I persist. "Isn't it healthy that they should also have some entertainment and sports?" Qudratullah was losing his patience by now. "If we are to ask Afghan women, their problems have been solved. You cannot compare Afghanistan to other countries. The women of Afghanistan reject those things which are against Islam. It is the demand of Islam that women should live their lives according to the principles of Islam".
Abdul Hai Mutmaeen, spokesman of Mullah Mohammad Omar, was prepared to be more liberal. "Anything which does not affect the moral character of women is allowed by us," he declared grandly. Asked to give examples of what was permitted, he said: "During weddings, women can play the dayra (a small round drum). But we don't allow the dhol (a larger drum) as this is immoral and against Islam".
I told Mutmaeen that I had heard Hindi films are very popular and that Afghan women seem to like Shahrukh Khan a lot. (A Western aid worker who attended a wedding in Kabul recently had told me she was impressed with the way the girls danced "just in Hindi movies", but I decided not to bring this up). "During the communist days, these Indian movies were shown here. Today nobody wants to see them." But even young people seem to know about the latest releases, I said. Surely they must still be watching. "No", said Mutmaeen. "The Rabbani government had also shown these movies before 1996. They must remember things from those days. But don't worry. We are in the process of repairing peoples' consciousness".
At the end of interview, I asked Mutmaeen whether he had ever seen a Hindi movie during the long years he spent in exile in Pakistan. "Certainly not", he said. "I was busy studying in different madrassas. There was no time for such things."
19 March 2001
Overshadowed by Buddhas, drought cries out for attention
19 March 2001
The Times of India
In Taliban country
OVERSHADOWED BY BUDDHAS, DROUGHT CRIES OUT FOR ATTENTION
By SIDDHARTH VARADARAJAN
Times of India News Service
HERAT: Unknown to most of the world, Afghanistan today is in the grip of a drought so severe that more than half a million people have been forced to migrate from their home districts in search of food. Bamiyan's Buddhas may have hogged the news headlines for more than two weeks, but what is happening to this country's fragile peasant communities is no less tragic.
Every day, 100 families arrive at this oasis town near Iran from Bamiyan, Ghor, Badghis, and even far away Kunduz, near the border with Uzbekistan. According to Hans-Christian Poulsen, the UN's regional coordination officer for western Afghanistan, there are already 100,000 refugees -internally displaced persons, or IDPs, to be precise - living in makeshift camps in and around Herat. They are provided the equivalent of 750 kilocalories of free rations a day, barely a third of the recommended calorific requirement. Desperate to earn money to feed themselves and their families, many IDPs are prepared to work for as little as 10,000 Afghanis - or Rs 8 -- a day. During the cold wave that struck Herat in early February, around 200 refugees died. Aware of the power of images, the province's governor allowed TV crews to film inside the refugee camps, hoping that the violation of the Taliban's edict banning the photographic or filmic representation of the human form might bring in foreign aid.
The drought actually began in the winter of 1999 but it was only after the summer of 2000 that farmers started getting desperate. By then, they had exhausted their food stocks and started eating their seeds. Next was the turn of their livestock, which could not be sold easily because all their neighbours were facing the same predicament. When their animals were gone, people dismantled their homes, selling their wooden beams and thatched roofing on the highway in exchange for transportation up to Herat.
The farmers' response is quite typical, say UN officials. "In a drought, it is quite common for the victims to exhaust all their coping strategies and migrate only when they are close to starvation", said Poulsen. The migrants this correspondent met at Manora camp said there had not been such a shortage of rain for the past 29 years. The UN says the last time such a drought occurred was 70 years ago.
Aid agencies here agree that they failed to act upon the drought's early warning signs. However, they point out that international donors are far less willing to spend money on long-term measures that can ameliorate the effects of a drought -such as investing in the development of new water sources - than on emergency relief.
Another problem was the Taliban's reluctance to accommodate IDPs in camps. They were afraid of the pull factor' - that the assurance of relief might lead to greater internal displacement. "But once they realised the enormous logistical problems involved in providing relief, they had no choice but to agree to camps", an aid worker with an NGO said.
The UN in Herat says that although it is coping well now, it is imperative that measures be taken in the provinces to stem the flow of refugees. "The situation could still easily spin out of control", said Poulsen. "In any case, the dynamics of a drought are such that even if there is normal rainfall in the coming season, people here are going to need food assistance for at least the next year and a half".
The Times of India
In Taliban country
OVERSHADOWED BY BUDDHAS, DROUGHT CRIES OUT FOR ATTENTION
By SIDDHARTH VARADARAJAN
Times of India News Service
HERAT: Unknown to most of the world, Afghanistan today is in the grip of a drought so severe that more than half a million people have been forced to migrate from their home districts in search of food. Bamiyan's Buddhas may have hogged the news headlines for more than two weeks, but what is happening to this country's fragile peasant communities is no less tragic.
Every day, 100 families arrive at this oasis town near Iran from Bamiyan, Ghor, Badghis, and even far away Kunduz, near the border with Uzbekistan. According to Hans-Christian Poulsen, the UN's regional coordination officer for western Afghanistan, there are already 100,000 refugees -internally displaced persons, or IDPs, to be precise - living in makeshift camps in and around Herat. They are provided the equivalent of 750 kilocalories of free rations a day, barely a third of the recommended calorific requirement. Desperate to earn money to feed themselves and their families, many IDPs are prepared to work for as little as 10,000 Afghanis - or Rs 8 -- a day. During the cold wave that struck Herat in early February, around 200 refugees died. Aware of the power of images, the province's governor allowed TV crews to film inside the refugee camps, hoping that the violation of the Taliban's edict banning the photographic or filmic representation of the human form might bring in foreign aid.
The drought actually began in the winter of 1999 but it was only after the summer of 2000 that farmers started getting desperate. By then, they had exhausted their food stocks and started eating their seeds. Next was the turn of their livestock, which could not be sold easily because all their neighbours were facing the same predicament. When their animals were gone, people dismantled their homes, selling their wooden beams and thatched roofing on the highway in exchange for transportation up to Herat.
The farmers' response is quite typical, say UN officials. "In a drought, it is quite common for the victims to exhaust all their coping strategies and migrate only when they are close to starvation", said Poulsen. The migrants this correspondent met at Manora camp said there had not been such a shortage of rain for the past 29 years. The UN says the last time such a drought occurred was 70 years ago.
Aid agencies here agree that they failed to act upon the drought's early warning signs. However, they point out that international donors are far less willing to spend money on long-term measures that can ameliorate the effects of a drought -such as investing in the development of new water sources - than on emergency relief.
Another problem was the Taliban's reluctance to accommodate IDPs in camps. They were afraid of the pull factor' - that the assurance of relief might lead to greater internal displacement. "But once they realised the enormous logistical problems involved in providing relief, they had no choice but to agree to camps", an aid worker with an NGO said.
The UN in Herat says that although it is coping well now, it is imperative that measures be taken in the provinces to stem the flow of refugees. "The situation could still easily spin out of control", said Poulsen. "In any case, the dynamics of a drought are such that even if there is normal rainfall in the coming season, people here are going to need food assistance for at least the next year and a half".
16 March 2001
'UN sanctions may prolong Afghan civil war'
16 March 2001
The Times of India
In Taliban country
'UN SANCTIONS MAY PROLONG AFGHAN CIVIL WAR'
By SIDDHARTH VARADARAJAN
Times of India News Service
KABUL: UN officials in Afghanistan may despise the Taliban's policies but many of them have reservations about the utility of sanctions as a way of forcing a change.
In January, UN Security Council Resolution 1333 came into effect, imposing an arms embargo on the Taliban and banning their leaders from travelling abroad. The earlier ban on Ariana, Afghan Airways, was supplemented by a ban on all commercial flights into and out of Afghanistan. The US, which co-sponsored the resolution, insists civilians will be unaffected. However, the authorities here claim sanctions are having an adverse impact on ordinary citizens.
According to UN officials here, the truth lies somewhere in between. The sanctions may not directly affect civilians, they argue, but by scuttling any possibility of a negotiated end to the war with the opposition Northern Alliance, they will prolong the misery of the population. The Taliban's own policies - towards women, towards the opposition - don't help,'' said a senior UN official. But sanctions have been imposed not for these but because of their refusal to extradite Osama bin Laden.''
While acknowledging the Taliban arms embargo is impossible to monitor, the UN official said the failure to impose a similar ban on the Northern Alliance will prolong the country's civil war. As far as the ban on the leadership's travel except for Haj, humanitarian reasons or peace talks is concerned, the officials said: The sanctions stopped the peace process and Haj comes once a year. If you don't take Taliban leaders out of here, how will they learn anything from outside? This way, we are fuelling their extremism.''
UN officials do not think targeting Ariana serves any useful purpose. With only internal flights allowed, 300 employees have been dismissed and medicines can no longer be flown in. Since the airline's ageing fleet of Antonovs are banned from going abroad for maintenance, there are also concerns about safety. If a flight crashes for whatever reason, the Taliban will put the responsibility on us,'' said a UN official.
At the same time, UN staff say the Taliban are exaggerating the economic impact of the sanctions. Surface trade continues as normal. And though currency dealers played on popular fears to effect a 20 per cent devaluation of the Afghani, surveys conducted by the World Food Programme show the price of food has not risen.
''Of course, what counts is purchasing power,'' said a WFP officials. And most Afghans have very little of it.'' White collar salaries can be as low as Rs 500 a month. Last year's drought - which affected two million people - and the Taliban's ban on poppy cultivation have worsened matters. The situation is like a big puzzle with different pieces,'' said a senior UN official. With the war continuing, donors aren't interested in funding long-term projects. Then you have the drought and the Taliban's edicts, and now sanctions, which will ensure the war continues.''
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Activities in Afghanistan is monitoring the impact of sanctions but is aware that leading members of the Security Council are not always receptive to contarian reports. For example,'' said the senior UN official, we certified that the Taliban have more or less eradicated poppy cultivation in Kandahar, Nangahar and Helmand provinces but the US dismissed our report. Today, it is only Badakshan province where large-scale cultivation of poppies continues, but that is controlled by Rabbani, the man recognised by the UN as Afghanistan's president.''
The Times of India
In Taliban country
'UN SANCTIONS MAY PROLONG AFGHAN CIVIL WAR'
By SIDDHARTH VARADARAJAN
Times of India News Service
KABUL: UN officials in Afghanistan may despise the Taliban's policies but many of them have reservations about the utility of sanctions as a way of forcing a change.
In January, UN Security Council Resolution 1333 came into effect, imposing an arms embargo on the Taliban and banning their leaders from travelling abroad. The earlier ban on Ariana, Afghan Airways, was supplemented by a ban on all commercial flights into and out of Afghanistan. The US, which co-sponsored the resolution, insists civilians will be unaffected. However, the authorities here claim sanctions are having an adverse impact on ordinary citizens.
According to UN officials here, the truth lies somewhere in between. The sanctions may not directly affect civilians, they argue, but by scuttling any possibility of a negotiated end to the war with the opposition Northern Alliance, they will prolong the misery of the population. The Taliban's own policies - towards women, towards the opposition - don't help,'' said a senior UN official. But sanctions have been imposed not for these but because of their refusal to extradite Osama bin Laden.''
While acknowledging the Taliban arms embargo is impossible to monitor, the UN official said the failure to impose a similar ban on the Northern Alliance will prolong the country's civil war. As far as the ban on the leadership's travel except for Haj, humanitarian reasons or peace talks is concerned, the officials said: The sanctions stopped the peace process and Haj comes once a year. If you don't take Taliban leaders out of here, how will they learn anything from outside? This way, we are fuelling their extremism.''
UN officials do not think targeting Ariana serves any useful purpose. With only internal flights allowed, 300 employees have been dismissed and medicines can no longer be flown in. Since the airline's ageing fleet of Antonovs are banned from going abroad for maintenance, there are also concerns about safety. If a flight crashes for whatever reason, the Taliban will put the responsibility on us,'' said a UN official.
At the same time, UN staff say the Taliban are exaggerating the economic impact of the sanctions. Surface trade continues as normal. And though currency dealers played on popular fears to effect a 20 per cent devaluation of the Afghani, surveys conducted by the World Food Programme show the price of food has not risen.
''Of course, what counts is purchasing power,'' said a WFP officials. And most Afghans have very little of it.'' White collar salaries can be as low as Rs 500 a month. Last year's drought - which affected two million people - and the Taliban's ban on poppy cultivation have worsened matters. The situation is like a big puzzle with different pieces,'' said a senior UN official. With the war continuing, donors aren't interested in funding long-term projects. Then you have the drought and the Taliban's edicts, and now sanctions, which will ensure the war continues.''
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Activities in Afghanistan is monitoring the impact of sanctions but is aware that leading members of the Security Council are not always receptive to contarian reports. For example,'' said the senior UN official, we certified that the Taliban have more or less eradicated poppy cultivation in Kandahar, Nangahar and Helmand provinces but the US dismissed our report. Today, it is only Badakshan province where large-scale cultivation of poppies continues, but that is controlled by Rabbani, the man recognised by the UN as Afghanistan's president.''
15 March 2001
Bamiyan Buddhas laid to rest
15 March 2001
The Times of India
In Taliban country
BAMIYAN BUDDHAS LAID TO REST
By SIDDHARTH VARADARAJAN
Times of India News Service
KABUL: Finally laying to rest any last glimmer of hope about the fate of the Bamiyan Buddhas, the Taliban on Wednesday said that although 100 per cent 'work' has not yet been completed, the statues have more or less been destroyed.
In his first meeting with journalists since the controversial order to destroy the statues was issued, Taliban Foreign Minister Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil said dynamite was being used since artillery fire was not enough. "In some portion, cement and steel rods are there. Though I cannot say exactly, a greater portion of statue is no longer left."
Information Minister Qodratollah Jamal was, however, quoted as saying by the Afghan Islamic Press that "even traces of the statues are not visible now."
Muttawakil said that the edict has been under consideration for six years and pertained to all statues depicting life form. However, he gave an assurance that this would not apply to statues which might be worshipped by Afghan's small Hindu and Sikh communities inside their temples.
"Their statues will not be smashed as they are worshipping them as part of their religious rituals. Hindus and Sikhs can fulfil their religious worshipping without any concern," he added.
Muttawakil parried questions on how the Taliban would react if a country like Spain, where there are no Muslims, were to destroy ancient mosques in Cordoba and Granada. "The Spanish law might not allow such destruction," he said. But what would happen if Spain were to change its laws, he was asked. Muttawakil finally admitted that "the situation will have to be judged then, but obviously we will be unhappy". Shifting ground, he then attacked the international community for focusing only on bad news from Afghanistan. Asked whether the destruction of the statues was good news or bad, he said: "It depends. For them it is bad, for us (it is) good."
Speaking later to The Times of India, Muttawakil said the Indian government should not link its diplomatic policies towards Afghanistan with the statues issue. He said the Taliban had gone out of their way to help India during the Kandahar hijacking. He denied even a commitment to India that the hijackers would be arrested; they were allowed to go because some compromise had to be made. "The plane first landed in India, they should have been arrested there."
He admitted hijacking is a crime but refused to accept the hijackers were criminals. "If they were tried they might have been found guilty because opposing a government is one thing, but killing innocent persons is another." Nevertheless, they had some arguments too, that they are waging jihad. "I am not a Mufti. It is not my job to judge."
On Kashmir, Muttawakil said the Taliban supported the militants fighting there, but only in nominal terms. He denied there were any militant training camps on the Afghan side. However, he acknowledged that there were Arabs and Pakistani "volunteers" who have been fighting alongside the Taliban against the Opposition. Asked about the numbers, he said "the numbers cannot and should not be counted. These are volunteers, they come and go".
The Times of India
In Taliban country
BAMIYAN BUDDHAS LAID TO REST
By SIDDHARTH VARADARAJAN
Times of India News Service
KABUL: Finally laying to rest any last glimmer of hope about the fate of the Bamiyan Buddhas, the Taliban on Wednesday said that although 100 per cent 'work' has not yet been completed, the statues have more or less been destroyed.
In his first meeting with journalists since the controversial order to destroy the statues was issued, Taliban Foreign Minister Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil said dynamite was being used since artillery fire was not enough. "In some portion, cement and steel rods are there. Though I cannot say exactly, a greater portion of statue is no longer left."
Information Minister Qodratollah Jamal was, however, quoted as saying by the Afghan Islamic Press that "even traces of the statues are not visible now."
Muttawakil said that the edict has been under consideration for six years and pertained to all statues depicting life form. However, he gave an assurance that this would not apply to statues which might be worshipped by Afghan's small Hindu and Sikh communities inside their temples.
"Their statues will not be smashed as they are worshipping them as part of their religious rituals. Hindus and Sikhs can fulfil their religious worshipping without any concern," he added.
Muttawakil parried questions on how the Taliban would react if a country like Spain, where there are no Muslims, were to destroy ancient mosques in Cordoba and Granada. "The Spanish law might not allow such destruction," he said. But what would happen if Spain were to change its laws, he was asked. Muttawakil finally admitted that "the situation will have to be judged then, but obviously we will be unhappy". Shifting ground, he then attacked the international community for focusing only on bad news from Afghanistan. Asked whether the destruction of the statues was good news or bad, he said: "It depends. For them it is bad, for us (it is) good."
Speaking later to The Times of India, Muttawakil said the Indian government should not link its diplomatic policies towards Afghanistan with the statues issue. He said the Taliban had gone out of their way to help India during the Kandahar hijacking. He denied even a commitment to India that the hijackers would be arrested; they were allowed to go because some compromise had to be made. "The plane first landed in India, they should have been arrested there."
He admitted hijacking is a crime but refused to accept the hijackers were criminals. "If they were tried they might have been found guilty because opposing a government is one thing, but killing innocent persons is another." Nevertheless, they had some arguments too, that they are waging jihad. "I am not a Mufti. It is not my job to judge."
On Kashmir, Muttawakil said the Taliban supported the militants fighting there, but only in nominal terms. He denied there were any militant training camps on the Afghan side. However, he acknowledged that there were Arabs and Pakistani "volunteers" who have been fighting alongside the Taliban against the Opposition. Asked about the numbers, he said "the numbers cannot and should not be counted. These are volunteers, they come and go".
13 March 2001
Inside Taliban country: Politics, not religion, brought the Buddhas down
13 March 2001
The Times of India
Inside Taliban Country
Politics not religion brought the Buddhas down
By Siddharth Varadarajan
KABUL: Future historians may ponder over the reasons why the Taliban
destroyed Bamiyan's majestic 5th century Buddhas - reports from there
confirm the deed is done - but the man in the street here appears convinced
that politics and not religion has provided the main impetus for the
decision.
Theories abound, many of them conspiratorial. ``This is a plot against the
Hazara people'', one Hazara shopkeeper said, referring to the
ethno-linguistic group that has been the most relentlessly hostile to the
Taliban. Bamiyan is part of Hazarajat, or the Hazara country, and has been
the scene of fierce fighting between the Taliban and the opposition. ``By
destroying our monuments, which are world famous, they want to make sure we
will not develop,'' he said.
It is also quite common to hear people blame Pakistan for the statues' fate.
``I can tell you for sure that this is the work of our neighbour,'' said a
mechanic. ``The more isolated we are, the more dependent we will be on them.
How can an Afghan destroy his own history?'' One taxi driver claimed
Pakistani commandos were personally directing the operation to destroy the
statues. Asked why was Pakistan's interior minister then appealing to the
Taliban to rescind the order, he said, ``In diplomacy, countries always put
on a mask.''
Though UN sanctions may not directly have led to the decision to destroy all
statues, observers here feel they helped to strengthen the hands of the
extremists within the Taliban. The moderates - supposedly led by foreign
minister Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil and the ailing Mullah Rabbani - had been
advising restraint on many fronts, saying that the Taliban would only get
more isolated. ``After the sanctions, nobody wanted to listen to them
anymore,'' said a former teacher. ``There was no holding back the
hardliners.'' The Pakistani government many not be involved but it is
certain that the Taliban's decision has gone down well with the
fundamentalist groups in Pakistan. ``Don't forget that the hardliners in the
Taliban seek legitimacy not from the UN but from the madrassas and jamaats
in Pakistan where they began life,'' he said.
Asked to explain the timing of the decision, Taliban's culture minister
Maulvi Qudratullah Jamal told The Times of India, "The status of all
religious statues, ma'abut, or deities, had been under consideration for some
time. The ministry for the promotion of virtue and prevention of vice
recently submitted its findings to the country's supreme court of ulemas,
which agreed that the statues were an insult to Islam and should be
destroyed." This decision, in turn, was ratified by Mullah Mohammed Omar,
the Amir-ul-Mohineen. Jamal added that the ancient monuments in a country
belonged to that country alone and the people there had the right to decide
whether to destroy or preserve them.
Rejecting the suggestion that the destruction of the Buddhas is similar to
the 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid, he said, ``Our decision refers only
to these statues, which are a small part of Afghanistan's history. The Babri
Masjid belonged to the Muslims who worshipped there. We will not harm any
functioning place of worship. The Shias, Hindus and Sikhs here are free to
observe their religious practices.''
However, the Afghan Sikhs and Hindus that this correspondent met do not feel
reassured by such promises. Bamiyan has come as a big shock to them. People
in one temple claimed that two men came on Sunday morning asking if there
were any statues there. When I asked my official translator about this, he
said nonchalantly, ``This must be the work of the Opposition which wants to
defame the government. The Taliban will not do such a thing.''
The Times of India
Inside Taliban Country
Politics not religion brought the Buddhas down
By Siddharth Varadarajan
KABUL: Future historians may ponder over the reasons why the Taliban
destroyed Bamiyan's majestic 5th century Buddhas - reports from there
confirm the deed is done - but the man in the street here appears convinced
that politics and not religion has provided the main impetus for the
decision.
Theories abound, many of them conspiratorial. ``This is a plot against the
Hazara people'', one Hazara shopkeeper said, referring to the
ethno-linguistic group that has been the most relentlessly hostile to the
Taliban. Bamiyan is part of Hazarajat, or the Hazara country, and has been
the scene of fierce fighting between the Taliban and the opposition. ``By
destroying our monuments, which are world famous, they want to make sure we
will not develop,'' he said.
It is also quite common to hear people blame Pakistan for the statues' fate.
``I can tell you for sure that this is the work of our neighbour,'' said a
mechanic. ``The more isolated we are, the more dependent we will be on them.
How can an Afghan destroy his own history?'' One taxi driver claimed
Pakistani commandos were personally directing the operation to destroy the
statues. Asked why was Pakistan's interior minister then appealing to the
Taliban to rescind the order, he said, ``In diplomacy, countries always put
on a mask.''
Though UN sanctions may not directly have led to the decision to destroy all
statues, observers here feel they helped to strengthen the hands of the
extremists within the Taliban. The moderates - supposedly led by foreign
minister Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil and the ailing Mullah Rabbani - had been
advising restraint on many fronts, saying that the Taliban would only get
more isolated. ``After the sanctions, nobody wanted to listen to them
anymore,'' said a former teacher. ``There was no holding back the
hardliners.'' The Pakistani government many not be involved but it is
certain that the Taliban's decision has gone down well with the
fundamentalist groups in Pakistan. ``Don't forget that the hardliners in the
Taliban seek legitimacy not from the UN but from the madrassas and jamaats
in Pakistan where they began life,'' he said.
Asked to explain the timing of the decision, Taliban's culture minister
Maulvi Qudratullah Jamal told The Times of India, "The status of all
religious statues, ma'abut, or deities, had been under consideration for some
time. The ministry for the promotion of virtue and prevention of vice
recently submitted its findings to the country's supreme court of ulemas,
which agreed that the statues were an insult to Islam and should be
destroyed." This decision, in turn, was ratified by Mullah Mohammed Omar,
the Amir-ul-Mohineen. Jamal added that the ancient monuments in a country
belonged to that country alone and the people there had the right to decide
whether to destroy or preserve them.
Rejecting the suggestion that the destruction of the Buddhas is similar to
the 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid, he said, ``Our decision refers only
to these statues, which are a small part of Afghanistan's history. The Babri
Masjid belonged to the Muslims who worshipped there. We will not harm any
functioning place of worship. The Shias, Hindus and Sikhs here are free to
observe their religious practices.''
However, the Afghan Sikhs and Hindus that this correspondent met do not feel
reassured by such promises. Bamiyan has come as a big shock to them. People
in one temple claimed that two men came on Sunday morning asking if there
were any statues there. When I asked my official translator about this, he
said nonchalantly, ``This must be the work of the Opposition which wants to
defame the government. The Taliban will not do such a thing.''
12 March 2001
In Taliban Country: Bamiya's 'refugees in stone'
12 March 2001
The Times of India
In Taliban Country
Bamiyan's 'refugees in stone'
By Siddharth Varadarajan
The Times of India News Service
KABUL: The Taliban's enigmatic order to destroy all statues from
Afghanistan's pre-Islamic past, including the two Buddhas at Bamiyan,
has left people here saddened and appalled. Except for Taliban leaders
and cadres, not a single Afghan that this correspondent met has
supported the decision to destory the statues.
``I had read about Atilla burning libraries but is there any parallel
to this madness?'', asked the owner of a pharmacy shop in northern
Kabul. ``Gear box kharab hai'' is how one taxi driver explained it,
pointing to his head. At the Torkham border checkpost with Pakistan --
where every day thousands of Afghan refugee arrive -- a Kabul-based
trader used a most poignant metaphor to describe the plight of the
statues. ``Look at all these people'', he said, ``Afghanistan has
become a country of refugees. If the Buddhas were not made of stone,
they would also have been mohajirs."
Most Afghans reject the suggestion that the destruction of ancient
statues has Qoranic sanction. One shopkeeper in downtown Kabul claimed
that Hazrat Usman and Hazrat Ali had passed by Bamiyan during their
travels but did not feel the need to destroy the statues. "When they
were happy to leave the Buddhas alone, who are the Taliban to say they
must be destroyed?", he asked.
``The Buddhas are part of the sarmaya (wealth) of the Afghan nation'',
a butcher in Kabul said. "How is the future of Islam affected by these
pieces of stone?'' One man who had lived for 15 years in Kohat,
Pakistan, as a refugee, said, ``We feel very sad. But we can do
nothing about it.'' Tugging forlornly on his beard, he added: ``When I
am not even free to shave, what can I do for the Buddhas?''
To date, there has been no credible eyewitness account of what is
happening to the statues -- journalists are not allowed in and Bamiyan
town is said to be empty because of the recent fighting between the
Taliban and the Hizb-e-Wahadat.
Even the Taliban have been giving conflicting accounts. Some suggest
the terrible deed has already been done, others that the work was
suspended due to the Eid holidays and that it will be completed soon.
Either way, it is clear that the statues' days are numbered.
On Saturday, Mullah Mohammed Omar, Amir-ul-Momineen (Commander of the
Faithful) and head of the Taliban's Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
(IEA), rejected an appeal from Pakistan's interior minister Moinuddin
Haider. IEA foreign minister Abdul Walal Motawakil, considered a
moderate, said his government rejected a ``compromise'' suggestion
that a wall be built in front of the Buddhas to block them from view.
``We have the money to build the wall or even to take care of the
statues. But this is not about money. The statues have to be
destroyed.''
Whatever the rumours of a division within the Taliban leadership, the
rank and file have no sympathy for the staues, or public opinion. A
Taliban soldier named Abdullah -- unarmed but recognisable by the
trademark black turban -- told this correspondent there was no way the
statues could escape the fate decreed by Mullah Omar. ``The Amir never
goes back on his word.''
He said the firman was necessary to ensure ``but-parasti'' (idol
worhsip) never returned to Afghanistan. When told that Muslims around
the world had appealed to the Taliban to stop the destruction,
Abdullah said that these were not ``real Muslims''.
Another Talib, Sher Mohammed, who had studied in a madrassa in
Charsadda, Pakistan, before signing up, was equally rigid. He agreed
with the suggestion that building hospitals and schools, or even
madrassas, might be a better way of making sure Afghans remained on
the path of true Islam, but said now that Mullah Omar had spoken, the
statues' destruction was ``the most immediate work for us''.
He also attacked the world for suddenly being concerned about what was
happening inside Afghanistan. ``People died of the cold in Herat last
month, why are you bothered about the Buddhas? If the UN had not
imposed sanctions on us, there might have been some room to negotiate.
But now it is too late.''
The Times of India
In Taliban Country
Bamiyan's 'refugees in stone'
By Siddharth Varadarajan
The Times of India News Service
KABUL: The Taliban's enigmatic order to destroy all statues from
Afghanistan's pre-Islamic past, including the two Buddhas at Bamiyan,
has left people here saddened and appalled. Except for Taliban leaders
and cadres, not a single Afghan that this correspondent met has
supported the decision to destory the statues.
``I had read about Atilla burning libraries but is there any parallel
to this madness?'', asked the owner of a pharmacy shop in northern
Kabul. ``Gear box kharab hai'' is how one taxi driver explained it,
pointing to his head. At the Torkham border checkpost with Pakistan --
where every day thousands of Afghan refugee arrive -- a Kabul-based
trader used a most poignant metaphor to describe the plight of the
statues. ``Look at all these people'', he said, ``Afghanistan has
become a country of refugees. If the Buddhas were not made of stone,
they would also have been mohajirs."
Most Afghans reject the suggestion that the destruction of ancient
statues has Qoranic sanction. One shopkeeper in downtown Kabul claimed
that Hazrat Usman and Hazrat Ali had passed by Bamiyan during their
travels but did not feel the need to destroy the statues. "When they
were happy to leave the Buddhas alone, who are the Taliban to say they
must be destroyed?", he asked.
``The Buddhas are part of the sarmaya (wealth) of the Afghan nation'',
a butcher in Kabul said. "How is the future of Islam affected by these
pieces of stone?'' One man who had lived for 15 years in Kohat,
Pakistan, as a refugee, said, ``We feel very sad. But we can do
nothing about it.'' Tugging forlornly on his beard, he added: ``When I
am not even free to shave, what can I do for the Buddhas?''
To date, there has been no credible eyewitness account of what is
happening to the statues -- journalists are not allowed in and Bamiyan
town is said to be empty because of the recent fighting between the
Taliban and the Hizb-e-Wahadat.
Even the Taliban have been giving conflicting accounts. Some suggest
the terrible deed has already been done, others that the work was
suspended due to the Eid holidays and that it will be completed soon.
Either way, it is clear that the statues' days are numbered.
On Saturday, Mullah Mohammed Omar, Amir-ul-Momineen (Commander of the
Faithful) and head of the Taliban's Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
(IEA), rejected an appeal from Pakistan's interior minister Moinuddin
Haider. IEA foreign minister Abdul Walal Motawakil, considered a
moderate, said his government rejected a ``compromise'' suggestion
that a wall be built in front of the Buddhas to block them from view.
``We have the money to build the wall or even to take care of the
statues. But this is not about money. The statues have to be
destroyed.''
Whatever the rumours of a division within the Taliban leadership, the
rank and file have no sympathy for the staues, or public opinion. A
Taliban soldier named Abdullah -- unarmed but recognisable by the
trademark black turban -- told this correspondent there was no way the
statues could escape the fate decreed by Mullah Omar. ``The Amir never
goes back on his word.''
He said the firman was necessary to ensure ``but-parasti'' (idol
worhsip) never returned to Afghanistan. When told that Muslims around
the world had appealed to the Taliban to stop the destruction,
Abdullah said that these were not ``real Muslims''.
Another Talib, Sher Mohammed, who had studied in a madrassa in
Charsadda, Pakistan, before signing up, was equally rigid. He agreed
with the suggestion that building hospitals and schools, or even
madrassas, might be a better way of making sure Afghans remained on
the path of true Islam, but said now that Mullah Omar had spoken, the
statues' destruction was ``the most immediate work for us''.
He also attacked the world for suddenly being concerned about what was
happening inside Afghanistan. ``People died of the cold in Herat last
month, why are you bothered about the Buddhas? If the UN had not
imposed sanctions on us, there might have been some room to negotiate.
But now it is too late.''
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