Kabul getting ready to host first major conference (Feature)

By Farhad Peikar Jul 19, 2010, 3:06 GMT

Kabul - A new road has been paved and lane dividers are being replaced and painted in Kabul ahead of a key international conference which is expected to transfer more aid money and responsibility to Afghans.

Even trees on both sides of a road linking the international airport to the conference venue are being daubed white, while dozens of people have been working day-and-night this past week to clean the open drains or hoist the Afghan flag around the dust-covered city.

The new infrastructure boom is apparently aimed at showing delegates from more than 70 countries and international and regional organizations that the billions of dollars given to the Afghan government have had a positive impact on the war-torn country.

But with the Taliban expected to try and disrupt Tuesday's gathering, thousands of security personnel have been deployed around the city. Dozens of make-shift checkpoints have been erected, while heavily armed troops are on patrol in the streets.

On Sunday, a Taliban suicide bomber riding a bicycle killed three people and injured 45 near the airport road.

Zemarai Bashary, a spokesman for the interior ministry, said the bomber had planned to attack an 'important target' but failed because of the enhanced security.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said it was ready to help with protection if asked, but insisted that security for the event was primarily the task of the Afghans.

Afghan and NATO forces say they have captured at least two Taliban groups, who planned to attack the Kabul event.

'I wonder whether the Afghan and foreign forces are able to provide security. What is the need for such an important conference in Kabul,' said Mohammad Nahim, a 42-year-old government employee.

'No matter how the government tightens security, they cannot stop Taliban suicide bombers or their rockets, so what is the need to defame the country and risk so many lives?' Nahim asked.

His concern was echoed by Gholam Hazrat, another resident of the capital. 'After they were unable to stop the attack on the peace jirga, they should learn it is not possible to fight those who are not afraid of losing their lives.'

The militants attacked a peace assembly in Kabul, known as peace jirga, last month with rockets and suicide bombers. President Hamid Karzai and more than 1,600 delegates from across Afghanistan had attended the assembly to discuss ways on how to put an end to the country's drawn-out war.

The attacks did not stop the conference, but prompted Karzai to fire two of his top security chiefs, the interior minister and head of the intelligence service.

However, Mahmoud Hassanyar, an employee with an international aid agency, said that after nine years it was the time for Afghanistan to take responsibility for the governance and security of the country.

'Even if the conference does not yield any positive results, at least the government painted and cleaned our city. That is positive,' he said with a sarcastic smile.

Nearly 40 foreign ministers, among them US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, are expected for the gathering, which has been touted as a chance for the government to win popular support for its pledges to rebuild the country and economy.

The government plans to ask for 50 per cent of the nearly 13 billion dollars already pledged for reconstruction over the next two years to be channeled through Kabul.

The Afghan team also plans to present proposals aimed at improving governance, economic development, the rule of law, human rights and aid effectiveness.

Co-chaired by Karzai and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, it is the ninth international conference on Afghanistan, but the first to be held inside the war-torn country.