Afghanistan’s airline rising from ashes of war

KABUL, May 26: Birds are nesting in the cockpit of an ilyushin. The back of the Antonov is broken open, the proud aircraft destroyed by artillery fire during the 1990s.

Hot spring sun glints off the shrapnel-peppered fuselage of an airplane that once plied the Amsterdam to Kabul run.

Welcome to Kabul International Airport, where Afghanistan’s National Airline Ariana has laid the bulk of its fleet to rest —the wrecks from 23 years of war piled one on top of another.

But the once proud Airline that used to ferry the rich and hip to trendy holiday spots in Afghanistan hopes to become the phoenix of the airline industry, rising from the ashes of war to re-connect the country with the world.

"In the golden days of the 1960s, we had a lot of tourists. We had a lot of Europeans, Americans as well. They all wanted to walk in the footsteps of Marco Polo," said Ariana’s Vice President for Operations, 66-year-old Feda Fedawi.

"But with peace, I hope the good times will return. People are fed up with war. They want normality," he told a television.

Ariana was grounded in November 1999 when the United Nations imposed sanctions on Afghanistan’s former rulers, the Taliban.

After clearing mines and repairing a cratered runway at Kabul airport, it returned to international skies in January — the fuel hand-pumped into the inaugural flight to New Delhi.

The state-owned airline currently operates two aircraft — all that remains of a once varied fleet of more than 20 aircraft — to New Delhi, Islamabad and Dubai.

Some were destroyed in fighting during the 1980s Soviet Union occupation, others were wrecked in the 1990s when warlords fought each other for control of Kabul. Six of the last eight aircraft were lost last October during the US-led bombing of Afghanistan.

"But we can now offer first class on some flights," Fedawi said in precise english.

On the wall of his office, a faded out-of-date poster invites prospective tourists to visit the centuries-old Buddha Statues Bamiyan — reduced to rubble by the Taliban last year because they were unislamic icons. Despite the massive war damage, Fedawi insists Ariana enforces the highest safety standards.

"We have experienced pilots and crew. The rules of the international civil aviation organisation are respected," he said, gesturing to a golden plaque awarded in the 1990s by the International Air Transport Association to ariana to mark 50 years of service.

The ariana experience begins downtown at the company’s main ticket office at the Kabul hotel. But it’s a ticket office with a difference — the first and second floors are open to the air after a bomb exploded there two years ago.

The lines of reservation desks are empty and the windows were bricked up years ago to protect customers from flying shrapnel.

In a cubbyhole in a dark corner, a taciturn but polite man writes out a ticket — 160 dollars to Dubai.

Checking in at the airport gives the true flavour of post-conflict Afghanistan. Pick your way past the security guards, whose hands will feel every inch of your body. Try not to look at pock marks left by mortar shells.

If you’re lucky, there will be electricity. Otherwise, the ariana staff will check you in by the light of a small gas lamp.

The ride out to the aircraft from the terminal is not for the weak-hearted. A single bullet hole has punctured the windscreen of the decrepit passenger bus. The hole is level with the driver’s forehead.

"Not many people have heard of ariana. I’m sort of looking forward to the flight. But I do feel a bit nervous," said Peter Rudden, a South African Television Technician returning home after working in Kabul.

The pilots look tidy in their uniforms, although at 150 dollars a month, they are among the worst paid in the industry.

Trained in France during the 1970s, or in Egypt and Jordan, they are internationally certified to fly the boeing aircraft, Fedawi says.

The aircraft receive the bulk of their maintenance in Jordan, although minor repairs are carried out in Kabul. During their six years of militant Islamic rule, the Taliban changed the face of Afghanistan, ariana included. Stewardesses were fired en masse.

"It was terrible. All we could do was sit at home, we had travelled the world and suddenly we weren’t allowed out of our houses," said Laila, a stewardess on the Kabul-Dubai run.

Remaining male staff were required by the Taliban to grow beards, including the pilots.

"The Taliban would not allow them to trim them and that made it impossible to wear an oxygen mask," Fedawi said.

"Imagine, in an emergency, the pilot trying to hang onto his mask with one hand and guide the plane with the other."

With the return of peace, the beards have gone and the stewardesses are back in makeup, jewellery and perfume — cutting a spectacular dash in a country where almost all women are still covered by head-to-toe Burkahs. "For the moment, most of our 1,600 employees don’t have enough work. But as the network grows, we’ll be able to use them more productively." (AGENCIES)

Pak test fires second missile in as many days

ISLAMABAD, May 26: Pakistan today successfully test fired its second missile in as many days as part of its ongoing series of missile tests as the international community struggled to pull India and Pakistan back from the brink of war.

The missile tested today was a newly-developed short range Hatf-III, also known was Ghaznavi, that could carry nuclear warheads upto 290 km, an official statement here said.

Defence officials said Pakistan "successfully" tested its surface-to-surface ballistic missile Hataf-III (Ghaznavi), as a part of missile tests currently underway.

"This was the first test of the Ghaznavi missile which is capable of carrying warheads accurately upto a range of 290 km," the statement said.

It said the flight data collected indicated that all design parameters have been successfully validated.

Claiming that it was indigenously developed missile, the statement said the missile was a culmination of hard work done by Pakistani scientists and engineers.

President Pervez Musharraf congratulated the scientists and engineers for the success, it said.

Yesterday, Pakistan test fired surface-to-surface Hataf-V, a medium range missile that could travel up to 1500 km. It however logged a distance of 900 km to hit its pre designated targets.

The timing of the missile tests, which were apparently aimed at bolstering the image of the Musharraf Government, were severely criticised by the international community.

Pakistan has already announced that it would carry out a number of missile tests between May 25-28.

Pakistan’s missile systems consists of three components, namely short range hataf, medium and long range Shaheen and Ghuri missiles.

US and Russia led the international community in condemning Pakistan’s test-firing of Ghauri missile saying this would further aggravate its military tension with India.

Secretary of State Colin Powell said the United States was "disappointed" at Pakistan’s decision to carry out the test launch of the surface-to-surface ballistic missile.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said "Russia regrets that the tests are being conducted in the conditions of the conflict".

Russian Foreign Ministry issued a strongly worded statement condemning the missile launch and said Islamabad must move "from words to deeds" in demonstrating its genuine desire for a political dialogue with India.

Canada also expressed regret over the test-firing at a time of high tension with India.

Voicing similar sentiments, Japan said "we regret the missile test, which could intensify missile development in South Asia and deteriorate relations between India and Pakistan." (PTI)

Pakistan says it doesn’t want war but read if necessary

ISLAMABAD, May 26: Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf today told India his country did not want war but was ready to meet any challenge.

"... We do not want war, but they will find us always prepared for it," Gen Musharraf told a gathering marking the birthday celebrations of Prophet Mohammad here.

He also commended Pakistani scientists for the successful test firing of the indigenous Ghauri missile today.

Pakistan is capable enough to repulse "Indian aggression", he claimed, and stressed the need for national solidarity.

In an interview yesterday to the BCC, the General said: "if we are attacked, we’ll certainly defend all the way, with all our might. We certainly would defend every inch of Pakistan.

"India has massed its troops on the border. So, they have the capability of undertaking any adventurous act," he said.

He described the current standoff between India and Pakistan as "dangerous", but hoped good sense would prevail on both sides to defuse tension.

"Nobody — no sane person would like to go to war."

Responding to a question about the success of diplomatic means to defuse tension, the President said the United States was playing a role and "all that I would like to say is that we would like to cooperate, certainly, because we don’t want war".

The President said the Indian Government ‘’acted in great haste and rather in an irresponsible fashion’’ by amassing troops on the border after the attack on Parliament in New Delhi.

He, however, condemned the Kaluchak attack. ‘’there is no doubt in our mind that killing of civilians — in a bus or in barracks, the families of militarymen — is condemnable.’’

But Gen Musharraf ruled out "unilateral" withdrawal of Pakistani troops from advance positions, saying "it may be quite dangerous".

"Now if we withdraw and suppose there is some adventurism from the other side, we wouldn’t be there on border at all. We will loose territory and that is not acceptable, he said."(UNI)

Pak sucessfully test fires Ghauri missile

ISLAMABAD, May 26: Pakistan today test fired its medium range surface-to-surface ballistic missile Hatf V, heralding the first of a series of tests being planned over the next three days.

Announcing the successful test firing, President Pervez Musharraf told a religious gathering to mark the birthday of Prophet Mohammed, that "the missile was tested at 9:10 am. It has has a range of 1500 kilometers. It showed total accuracy. It hit the target," he said.

"I am also thankful to God who has blessed us with the success," he said and raised the slogan "Allah-o-Akbar (God is great) three times.

"I appreciate all our scientists who have achieved the success on theit own," he said.

"We don’t want war, but we are ready for war," Musharraf said.

A defence statement earlier said "the Ghauri can carry its warheads with great accuracy" and that the tests were routine and were "concerning technical matters."

"The successful flight test has reconfirmed the effectiveness and technical excellence of Pakistan’s indigenous missile technology as well as the first rate professionalism and dedication of its scientists and engineers," it said.

The series of tests are a part of the research and development of Pakistan’s indigenous missile programme, which is an essential element of Pakistan’s policy of maintaining maximum deterrence in the interest of security, it said. "It demonstrates Pakistan’s determination to defend itself, strengthen national security and consolidate strategic balance in the region," the statement said.

There was no indication of where the tests, the first missile test since April 1999, were conducted.

Referring to today’s missiles tests, APP quoted officials as saying that Pakistan has not tested a major missile system since April 99, and had demonstrated utmost restraint over the past three years.

"Our policy will continue to be governed by the restrain and responsibility and such will only conducted when technically needed", it said.

Officials said this was first of the missile tests they planned to conduct of its Ghauri and Shaheen missiles till May 28.

Pakistan while informing India about the tests yesterday said "the tests were routine and were concerning technical matters."

"We have also informed India that these tests have nothing to do with the current situation," reports quoted Pakistan Information Secretary Anwar Mahmood as saying.

Though Pakistan claims that its Ghauri missile system were indigenously built, critics here point out that it was a version of North Korea’s Nodong I missile and Chinese M-11 missiles which could go up to 1500 km.

Local media here quoted officials as saying the tests were being carried out in retaliation to India’s recent testfiring of Agni-11.

It was also seen as a measure to bolster the image of Musharraf’s Government which suffered a major credibility crisis following reports of serious irregularities in the referendum held on April 30, reports said. (PTI)

US Congress Sept. 11 probe finds more missed clues

WASHINGTON, May 25: A Congressional investigation into U.S. Intelligence failures before the September 11 attack has turned up more missed clues that in hindsight might have helped uncover the plot, a lawmaker said.

"There was no single piece of information that on its own would have led you to a further investigation that might have avoided September the 11th," Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Bob Graham told reporters yesterday.

"But the fact is, it was not a single piece of information, there were a series of pieces of information, and in fact we are continuing to surface additional pieces of information where clues were given," the Florida democrat said.

The FBI has come under fire from Republicans and Democrats for not pursuing a memo written by an agent in Phoenix last July expressing concerns that West Asian men linked to Osama bin Laden were taking lessons at U.S. Flight Schools.

"Of all the things I’ve seen, I think the Phoenix document is the brightest light," Graham said. That memo was sent to two places at the FBI in Washington — the radical fundamentalist unit and the Osama bin Laden unit — but not any further.

The FBI also has been criticized for not correlating that memo with the August arrest of Zacarias Moussaoui, a French citizen who sought flying lessons in Minnesota. Moussaoui is charged with conspiring in the attack, and U.S. officials suspect he was to have been the 20th hijacker.

Among materials collected by Congressional investigators were notes an FBI agent in Minnesota made about a telephone conversation with an official at FBI headquarters in which the agent said Moussaoui was going to "fly a plane into the WTC."

"There will be more coming out in our investigation," a Congressional source said.

Four commercial airliners were hijacked on September 11. Two crashed into the World Trade Center’s twin towers, one into the Pentagon, and one in rural Pennsylvania before it was able to reach its target, which was apparently the White House.

Washington blames the attacks, which killed about 3,000 people, on Bin Laden and his Al Qaeda network. September 11 has become a defining event for American views and policies toward security vulnerabilities at home and extremists abroad.

Asked if there were any missed clues apart from the FBI Phoenix memo and the Moussaoui arrest, Graham replied, "the answer is yes, but I can’t talk about it."

"As information starts to become public, it causes people to come forward with even more information, so it’s kind of a domino effect," Graham said.

FBI agent Coleen Rowley complained in a recent 13-page letter to FBI Director Robert Mueller and lawmakers that FBI headquarters should have approved a request from the Minneapolis office for a search warrant involving Moussaoui.

Mueller has asked the Justice Department Inspector General to investigate the complaints by the Minneapolis agent.

"There were statements indicating that she felt that the higher-echelon leadership in the FBI had had a pattern of submerging what they considered to be critical comment," Graham, who has seen Rowley’s letter, said. Congressional investigators interviewed her on Tuesday.

Graham said the letter, which has been classified secret by the FBI in eight places, was "very serious" and that he anticipated investigators would look at the cultures inside the intelligence agencies.

Iowa Republican Charles Grassley, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Rowley’s letter alarmed him.

"If FBI headquarters is still handling terrorism information like it handled the Moussaoui case, we’re in grave danger. This was worse than dropping the ball," he said in a statement urging the FBI to declassify the letter.

"Director Mueller can label this letter classified and the FBI can circle the wagons, but a cover-up is not going to work," he said, adding he had assured Rowley of protection.

The 2.9 million dollar joint investigation being conducted by the House and Senate Intelligence Committees is expected to hold its first hearings next month. Initially, the hearings will be closed, but an open one with CIA Director George Tenet and Mueller as witnesses was scheduled for late June.

"We’re ready," Tenet said about the coming hearings after a meeting with Graham. "I think it’s important that we have hearings. The Senate and the House Committees will do their job. We’ll try and help them."

The investigation will look into the bureaucratic structures of the intelligence agencies and the information flow, and make recommendations on how to improve them.

The committees were expected to announce soon that the new head of the investigation would be Eleanor Hill, a former Defense Department Inspector General, to replace Britt Snider who resigned over a personnel issue.(REUTERS)

UK Premier’s wife discovers half sister: Report

LONDON, May 25: The wife of British Prime Minister Tony Blair has discovered a half-sister whose existence was kept secret for 35 years, a newspaper reported today.

Cherie Blair has yet to meet 35-year-old Lucy Thomas, but has spoken to her by phone, the Daily Mail said.

A Downing Street spokeswoman refused to comment, saying it was "an entirely private matter".

Thomas was born in London in 1967 after Cherie Blair’s actor father Tony Booth had a short affair with radio saleswoman Ann Gannon, the paper said.

Four-times married Booth has seven other daughters. Blair, 47, a prominent lawyer and herself the mother of four children, is the eldest.

Booth told the newspaper he was still in touch with Thomas, who is married, has a six-year-old son and lives in Australia.

"All I want to say is I’m delighted Lucy is in my life," he said.

Thomas, who works for a television company in Sydney, said she spoke to Cherie Blair by Phone in March while the Blairs were attending a meeting of Commonwealth Heads at Coolum near Brisbane in Australia.

"We wanted to meet up, but I couldn’t get up to Coolum and Cherie couldn’t make it down to Sydney. So we’ve agreed to meet up later this year," she told The Daily Mail.

Thomas said the reason for contacting Cherie Blair after so many years were "very personal and private". (AGENCIES)

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