Afghan Press

Afghan President Hamid Karzai officially registered with the Election Commission on Monday to stand for re-election in country’s presidential polls
slated for August 20. The incumbent president appeared before the Election Commission Monday morning, naming current vice-president Karim Khalili as one of his running mates. But he replaced his other vice president, Ahmad Zia Massood, with former defence minister Mohammad Qasim Fahim.

Around 60 people have obtained registration forms from Election Commission, but one week before the 15-day registration period expires, only a few have submitted complete filing petitions.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) applauded Afghanistan’s National Environment Protection Agency (NEPA), which announced today the establishment of the country’s first internationally recognized national park.
USAID provided key funding that led to the park’s creation, including support of WCS to conduct preliminary wildlife surveys, identify and delineate [...]

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate the Afghan Independent Journalists’ Association (AIJA) in welcoming the release of Emroze television producer and journalist Ahmad Fahim Kohdamani.
According to the AIJA, Kohdamani was released from detention yesterday after being held for 27 days.
The official explanation for his arrest by the Kabul Police Department reportedly under [...]

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) extends its full support to the campaign of protests organised by the Afghan Independent Journalists’ Association (AIJA) to demand justice for two journalists murdered within a day of each other last week.
In the first of these, Jawed Ahmad, also known as Jo Jo, was driving in the southern [...]

On 2 March, Mullah Haji Mohammad Akbar, famously known as ‘The Father of Saffron in Afghanistan’ was awarded the prestigious Wazir Akbar Khan Medal by President Hamid Karzai at the presidential palace for his promotion of saffron in the western Herat province.
In 1998, Mullah Akbar became one of the first farmers to be involved in [...]

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is deeply worried over a Kabul Appeal Court ’s verdict upholding a 20-year prison sentence on Ghows Zelmay, a former journalist and spokesman for Afghanistan ’s Attorney-General, on charges of wrongly interpreting religious scripture.
Zelmay was arrested in November 2007, shortly after he published a translation of the Holy Qur’an [...]

The Intern ational Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is relieved to learn that the United States Department of Defence has finally released journalist Jawed Ahmad, who had been held without charge at Bagram air base in Afghanistan since last October.
Ahmad was on assignment for Canadian Television (CTV) when he was arrested by US military forces at [...]

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is deeply disturbed over a report that the chief editor of a radio station in the northern Afghan province of Faryab has been threatened with possible closure of her station by the provincial governor.
Rona Shirzai, the owner and chief editor of Radio Quyash, based in the provincial capital of [...]

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) demands an explanation from the United States Government for the continued detention without charge of Afghan journalist Jawed Ahmad.
According to the Afghan Independent Journalists’ Association (AIJA), an IFJ associate, Ahmad was on assignment for Canadian Television (CTV) when he was arrested by US military forces at Kandahar airport on [...]

UNDP Afghanistan Dari and Pashto websites launched by Ms. Fadzai Gwaradzimba, UNDP Chief, South and West Asia Division, Regional Bureau of Asia and the Pacific (RBAP) today 28 May 2008. Following UNDP audiences’ demand which includes governmental partners, media, academia, university students and Afghan public in getting more information on UNDP activities in local languages, [...]