Chrenkoff:
"In many ways, the public sentiment in Afghanistan remains significantly more positive and optimistic than in Iraq, which is surely a good sign for Afghanistan.
In the north of the country, too, optimism prevails about the future and the direction of the country. Ghalib Shah Azizi, whom I quoted at the start of the article, has this to say about the Afghani president: 'I believe Hamed Karzai is an intelligent and proper person to be selected as a president for Afghanistan. He will be able to rule the government and ensure peace and stability in the country.'
Religious authorities too, throw their support behind the efforts to build the new Afghanistan: the Afghan Ulema Council, composed of the nation's eminent religious scholars, has called on the Afghani people to give up their weapons and end 'the rule of the gun,' which has spread across the country over a quarter of a century of conflict. The scholars also called on people to support the government, and on religious leaders in towns and villages to encourage Afghanis to participate in the disarmament programme.
SOCIETY: Afghani refugees continue to vote with their feet: 'The pace of return to Afghanistan remains strong, with thousands of refugees going back daily. So far this year, we've seen some 450,000 refugees repatriate.' Of those, more than 242,000 came from Iran, surpassing the previous source of returning refugees, Pakistan, with some 210,000 Afghanis coming back from there since January. 'In all, some 3.5 million Afghans have gone home since the UNHCR-organized return movements started in 2002, including more than two million from Pakistan, 900,000 from Iran and more than 440,000 displaced persons, while tens of thousands of other exiles have gone back on their own.' This is surely the greatest humanitarian good news story of the last few decades.
For too long an international shame, the status of women in Afghanistan continues to improve: 'Women's role has changed, but burqas still prevail yet the status of women has improved since Taliban times. Women can walk around, unaccompanied by males, and they are allowed to work. They are free to roam in public without fear of being arrested or beaten for wearing high heels or seeming to walk in a provocative manner.' Women, for so long denied educational opportunities, are slowly winning their struggle for a better future: "
"In many ways, the public sentiment in Afghanistan remains significantly more positive and optimistic than in Iraq, which is surely a good sign for Afghanistan.
In the north of the country, too, optimism prevails about the future and the direction of the country. Ghalib Shah Azizi, whom I quoted at the start of the article, has this to say about the Afghani president: 'I believe Hamed Karzai is an intelligent and proper person to be selected as a president for Afghanistan. He will be able to rule the government and ensure peace and stability in the country.'
Religious authorities too, throw their support behind the efforts to build the new Afghanistan: the Afghan Ulema Council, composed of the nation's eminent religious scholars, has called on the Afghani people to give up their weapons and end 'the rule of the gun,' which has spread across the country over a quarter of a century of conflict. The scholars also called on people to support the government, and on religious leaders in towns and villages to encourage Afghanis to participate in the disarmament programme.
SOCIETY: Afghani refugees continue to vote with their feet: 'The pace of return to Afghanistan remains strong, with thousands of refugees going back daily. So far this year, we've seen some 450,000 refugees repatriate.' Of those, more than 242,000 came from Iran, surpassing the previous source of returning refugees, Pakistan, with some 210,000 Afghanis coming back from there since January. 'In all, some 3.5 million Afghans have gone home since the UNHCR-organized return movements started in 2002, including more than two million from Pakistan, 900,000 from Iran and more than 440,000 displaced persons, while tens of thousands of other exiles have gone back on their own.' This is surely the greatest humanitarian good news story of the last few decades.
For too long an international shame, the status of women in Afghanistan continues to improve: 'Women's role has changed, but burqas still prevail yet the status of women has improved since Taliban times. Women can walk around, unaccompanied by males, and they are allowed to work. They are free to roam in public without fear of being arrested or beaten for wearing high heels or seeming to walk in a provocative manner.' Women, for so long denied educational opportunities, are slowly winning their struggle for a better future: "
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