Syria's opposition will not enter into dialogue with the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, the country's newly elected rebel prime minister said Tuesday in his inaugural speech.

"We confirm to the great Syrian people that there will be no dialogue with the Assad regime," Ghassan Hitto said.

Hitto was chosen early Tuesday by a majority of the main opposition National Coalition members, after hours of consultation among dissidents.

He will be tasked with setting up an interim government which would be based in rebel-held territory in Syria.

The election comes some two months after Coalition chief Ahmad Moaz al-Khatib proposed talks with regime officials with conditions, including that some "160,000 detainees" be released.

Some Coalition members told AFP the election of an interim rebel premier and the establishment of a government cancelled out the possibility of talks with the regime.

"Khatib had specific conditions for talks with regime officials, and they were not met. The idea of talks fell through before the election happened," Coalition deputy Soheir Atassi said.

Another Coalition member told AFP on condition of anonymity that main opposition player the Syrian National Council only acceded to the creation of an interim government on the condition that there would be no talks with the regime.

"Once that was agreed, the Syrian National Council gave its backing to Hitto," the member told AFP.

President Hamid Karzai Wednesday flew to Ishqabad, the capital of Turkmenistan, to attend the world festival for the Persian new year Nowruz, the presidential palace said.

Karzai went with a high-ranking Afghan delegation to participate in the yearly International Nowruz Festival called "Nowruz - celebration of peace and humanity", the palace said in a statement.

During the two-day visit to Turkmenistan, Karzai will also meet and discuss development of the region with the presidents of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan "and many other countries", according to the palace.

Karzai is accompanied by National Security Advisor Dr. Rangin Spanta, Minister of Public Affairs Najibullah Ozhan, Presidential Adviser in International Relations Dr. Mohammad Yahya Marufi, Presidential Adviser in Religious Affairs Mawlavi Jorah Taheri, Presidential Deputy Chief of Staff Homaira Lodin Etmadi and Presidential spokesperson Aimal Faizi.

The International Nowruz Festival is held every year in a different city. Last year it was held in the capital of Iran, Tehran.

Iraq Wednesday marked 10 years since a US-led invasion that sought to establish a stable, democratic ally, grappling with continuing violence which left another 52 people dead in the bloodiest day in over six months, and a worsening political situation.

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President Hamid Karzai Wednesday reached an agreement with the US that their special forces will remain in most of Maidan Wardak province, signaling a shift from his previous demand for them to leave the province by March 11.

Gen. Joseph Dunford, the top US and Isaf Commander in Afghanistan, met with Karzai at the palace Wednesday morning to finalise the details, according to an Isaf statement.

Under the agreement, the Afghan National Security Forces will move into Wardak's Nerkh district, which is currently secured by Afghan Local Police aided by US forces. The timeline for this transition will be determined by the Afghan government, Isaf said.

"The remainder of the province will transition over time," Isaf added, without stating a time frame.

The decision is a clear change from Karzai's original order for the US to completely withdraw from the province by March 11.

The US Special Forces were ordered by Karzai on February 24 to leave the province in a fortnight after reports of abuse of Afghan civilians by the ALP which were subordinate to the US. However, the decision was criticised by other Afghan leaders as hasty and dangerous.

"I am pleased to announce that following a very constructive series of talks with the President and the leadership of the MOD and MOI, we have come to agreement on a plan for Wardak that continues the transition of this critical province and meets the security needs of the people and the requirements of our mission," Dunford was quoted saying in the Isaf statement Wednesday.

"I want to thank President Karzai for his leadership. This plan meets the President's intent and leverages the growing capacity and capability of the Afghan security forces to meet the security needs of this country. This solution is what success looks like as we continue the transition to overall Afghan security lead," he added.

The Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Industry has agreed with an Afghan-Turkish business group to host in Afghanistan more trade fairs of both countries products over the next ten years.

The Afghan-Turk General Commercial and Industrial Association signed an agreement with the ACCI for "constant fairs" of Afghan and Turn products in Afghanistan, beginning with three fairs in first month of the new Persian year 1392 (late March – late April 2013).

"There will be 35 Turk companies and 40 Afghan companies as well as 50 Turk traders and investors who seek investment opportunities participating in this exhibition," ACCI chief Mohammad Qorban Haqjoo said Tuesday.
The Turkish chief of the Afghan-Turk association said Afghanistan is a promising place for investment, especially for Turkish entities.

"We can say that Afghanistan is one of the best countries in the region, and a good environment for investment, especially for Turks that, compared to other nationalities, we can set up our companies here more easily," said Murad Aaqyuz, general secretary to the Afghan-Turk General Commercial and Industrial Association.

In return, ACCI officials said Turkey has a high industrial capability on the world scale, especially for that of mines, vehicles, agriculture, wood, and food products. They hope the country can be an example for Afghanistan.

Afghan lawmakers Wednesday criticised presidential spokesman Aimal Faizi for calling the Nato mission in Afghanistan "illogical and aimless", warning that such comments threaten the stability of the country.

The lawmakers said that the views coming from President Hamid Karzai's representative should be clarified as a personal idea of Karzai and not the views of the Afghan people.

"Such speeches will cause chaos in the country," MP Mohammad Naeem Lalai Ahmadzai said in Wednesday's parliamentary session. "The president is trying to remain in power by such statements. It is his personal idea, not the people's."

Fatima Aziz, an MP from northern Kunduz province, suggested the statement was too late considering Nato had been in Afghanistan more than a decade.

"Why didn't the government say ten years ago that the Nato mission is illogical and aimless? The Nato mission was not a secret," she said. "The comment will damage Afghanistan."

Lawmakers said they believed that Afghanistan needed the cooperation of the US and the presence of the foreign forces.

"Afghanistan's war is being planned by neighboring countries especially in Pakistan. And the country [Afghanistan] has serious need for international cooperation and the presence of foreign forces because the war has not ended in the country," member of the parliamentary international committee Noor Akbari said.

MPs said that main cause of war in Afghanistan is the intervention of the regional countries especially Pakistan where insurgents are being funded and equipped to be insurgents, creating more security challenges and thereby the need for foreign forces to assist until the Afghan forces can defend the country.

Faizi said Tuesday that the Nato-led military operation was "illogical and aimless", the latest public criticism of the foreign forces after Karzai's recent broadsides against the US.

His statement came after Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen rejected Karzai's recent allegations of US collusion with the Taliban.

"The people of Afghanistan ask Nato to define the purpose and aim of the so-called war on terror.... (They) consider this war as aimless and illogical to continue," Faizi said.

The Afghan Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation said Wednesday that it is planning to build an airport in the eastern province of Nuristan with hopes that it will help boost development in the area.

The surveys for the airport – expected to have a runway of 1.2 kilometers – will be completed in a month with construction to soon follow, ministry officials said.

"The responsible board has approved – following their observations – that this area is safe for landing small airplanes such as Pactec, and the airplanes of Ofoq-e-Sharq [airline]," said Jarallah Mansoori, deputy minister of Transport and Civil Aviation.

"The engineers will do their survey and design, and God willing, the work will soon start if the permission – based on technical, safety, and engineering issues – to construct the airport is provided," he said.

The airport site is in the provincial centre Parun and is expected to be able to receive small 8-passenger airplanes.

The cost for constructing Nuristan's airport is estimated at $3.5 million. Of this, $2 million will be provided with aid from India and the rest will be funded by the ministry.

Nuristan provincial leaders welcomed the news saying that the lack of an airport has left Nuristan behind in terms of progress.

"Engineers of [the Ministry of Rehabilitation and] Rural Development don't come here saying that there are no routes. Engineers of the Ministry of Public Works don't come here saying that there are no routes. The specialist doctors don't come here saying that there are no routes. Our biggest problem is that we are not able of implement our projects and programmes that need to be surveyed and designed for the reason that there are no routes," said provincial governor Tamim Nuristani.

Afghanistan's media watchdog Nai on Wednesday said the past year has been one of the worst yet for journalists across the country with at least 71 registered incidents of violence against journalists, mostly linked to the government officials.

On the eve of Persian year 1392, Nai called for the treatment of journalists to improve after the statistics show a nine percent increase of reported incidents between 1390 (Mar 2011-Mar2012) and 1391 (Mar2012-Mar2013).

"These incidents of violence against journalists which we have registered at the organisation are very shocking. The distressing part is that most of these cases are not addressed," Nai chief Seddiqullah Tawhidi said Wednesday.

According to Nai, the 71 cases of violence against journalist include killing, beating, arrest, and threats. Of the 71 cases, 46 were perpetrated by the government, four by the Taliban, one by the international forces, 12 by unidentified men, and eight by non-government people.

Tawhidi described the incidents as horrible, saying that in most cases journalists of the country are not heard, a motivation for the increase of such violence.

Aside from the violence, the journalists' access to sufficient information is a serious challenge.

"Besides all these issues, the lack of access to information is another problem. It's what we are facing every day. Most of the government sources don't provide journalists with enough information. In some cases a journalist can wait hours to receive a response," said Abbasin Zaheer, journalist.

Another journalist Maria Seddiqi said: "Journalists of Afghanistan are facing – apart from the insecurity and threats – social issues which are challenging to us."

Nai said one of the pluses for the year was the Afghan media's coverage of violence against women which it views as an achievement for freedom of speech.

President Hamid Karzai Wednesday reached an agreement with top US Commander in Afghanistan Gen. Joseph Dunford that US Special Forces will remain in most of Maidan Wardak province.

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The Afghan government has made security its top priority on the eve of Nawruz to ensure the Persian new year celebrations go ahead without an incident.

President Hamid Karzai ordered the Council of Ministers before he left for Turkmenistan Wednesday to make every effort to secure celebrations around the country.

"The president yesterday in the government cabinet session ordered all the cabinet to do their best for security in celebrating the festival of Nawroz," Rafi Ferdaws, spokesman of the Council of Ministers, told TOLOnews.

"During the new year, our capital cities celebrations should be full of happiness by launching contests, singing and flying kites," the Minister of Culture and Information Sayed Makhdom Rahin told TOLOnews.

The United Nations recognised the international day of Nawroz as the celebration of the Persian New Year and the beginning of spring with a statement from Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.

He described it as a symbolic importance of spring to "celebrate the larger forces that unite us".

"I offer my best wishes to those who celebrate Nawruz, and express hope that all people can use the occasion to reflect on the beauty of nature, the promise of spring, and the power of culture to build peace."

The US Ambassador to Afghanistan James Cunningham also released a message of congratulations and well-wishes for the new year.

"I want to take this opportunity to reiterate America's long-term commitment to help build a secure and prosperous Afghanistan. As President Obama has stated, we will stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Afghanistan for years to come. In the year ahead, we will redouble our efforts to help Afghans shape a bright future for this magnificent country," he said in a video message released by the US Embassy on youtube.

Afghanistan's bazaars today were busy with last minute shoppers preparing for tomorrow's holiday with its special customs and cooking.

Food sellers were particularly busy with the traditional dishes and sweets such as samanaks, sabzi and haft mewa, the most popular foods being sold.

The recent criticism of Nowruz as an un-Islamic celebration is baseless, the Afghan Ministry of Culture and Information said Thursday.

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Afghanistan's ambassador to Pakistan Umer Daudzai has said that he may run as a candidate in the Afghan presidential election next year, UK and Pakistani media reported Thursday.

President Hamid Karzai's former chief of staff and close aide becomes the first major political figure to declare an intention to run for the election in April 2014.

The Times of London reported that Daudzai had already planned his election platform.

In an interview in his residence in Islamabad, Daudzai told the Times that he would campaign on a manifesto of maintaining good relations with the West, anti-corruption reforms, eradication of poppy-growing and a shift of power away from the group of ageing former warlords who have run the country since 2001.

"I know what fate is waiting for people who become Number One in Afghanistan. But I have a national obligation and I'm under pressure from my conscience and like-minded people and that pressure convinced me that I should agree to become an option for a candidate," Daudzai said.

"There would be zero tolerance in two areas — corruption and poppy-growing. These two are the source of all evils, including terrorism. If we do well in curbing corruption and eradicating poppy-growing we have already defeated terrorism."

However, Pakistani newspaper The Express Tribune later reported that Daudzai had not made his final decision.

In an interview with the Tribune, Daudzai clarified his remarks.

"I cannot say that I am a candidate. Also I cannot say that I am not a candidate," the paper quoted him saying. "I need to further think and consult and then I will make a decision," he added.

Presidential candidates must nominate themselves by September for the poll scheduled for April 5 next year.

Daudzai, who has to quit his official post when he formally declares his intention, says he is happy to be considered "an option" until then.

An Afghan Local Police (ALP) officer opened fire on his fellow policemen at a checkpoint in western Badghis province, killing five of them, local officials said Thursday.

The incident occurred overnight in the Qadis district with the shooter escaping after the attack, Badghis police chief told TOLOnews.

The police have made some arrests following the shooting, detaining some of the relatives of the suspect, he added.

There have been unofficial reports that the suspect was a former Taliban who had joined the peace process but this is yet to be confirmed.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

A district governor in northern Takhar province has been killed on Nowruz when his vehicle hit a roadside bomb, officials said Thursday.

The governor of Takhar's Eshtamish district Abdul Manan Hakimi was travelling with his bodyguards when the vehicle ran over an improvised explosive device in the road in the district.

Hakimi and two of his bodyguards were killed instantly in the blast.

Kunduz and Takhar - the two northeastern provinces - have seen frequent assassinations of senior government officials over the past two years.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the high profile attack.

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The recent criticism of Nowruz as an un-Islamic celebration is baseless, the Afghan Ministry of Culture and Information said Thursday.

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Pakistan must have a contributory role in Afghanistan but this should not be interference in its interior issues.

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Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf said Friday he would definitely return home Sunday to contest historic elections in May and that he was prepared to risk any danger to his life.

He gave an interview with AFP in Dubai just hours after a Pakistani court granted him protective bail in a string of legal cases, paving the way for his return from nearly five years in exile without the risk of immediate arrest.

But commentators say most of his powerbase has evaporated and that he will only secure at the most a couple of seats for his All Pakistan Muslim League (APLM) party in the next national assembly at the May 11 election.

"Two hundred percent! I am travelling back on Sunday to Pakistan," he told AFP in Dubai, where he has divided his time with London.

"I will go by land, air or sea... even to the peril of my life this is the oath I took for the country."

Musharraf seized power in a bloodless coup when he was army chief of staff in 1999 and left the country after stepping down in August 2008, when Asif Ali Zardari was elected president.

He is wanted over the assassination of Zardari's wife, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, who died in a gun and suicide attack on December 27, 2007, just two months after her own return from years in self-imposed exile.

Bhutto's son, Bilawal Bhutto, who is co-chairman of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), has accused Musharraf of murdering his mother, and the outgoing government always insisted that Musharraf would be arrested should be return.

Last year, he delayed a planned homecoming after being threatened with detention. But an interim government is expected to be in place by Sunday even if Zardari will remain president until after the elections.

"There will be no arrest or anything," Musharraf told AFP.

He has presented himself as "a third alternative" to the PPP and to opposition leader Nawaz Sharif, whom he ousted in 1999 and who is considered a frontrunner in the May vote, by promising to reverse economic decline and restore security.

He conceded to AFP that his powerbase was weak, saying he was open to the prospect of a coalition with other parties campaigning for change, including former cricket star Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI).

"If I (alone) cannot (succeed) then one must get into coalition. And when you talk about coalition... those who have capability may be contributing towards better governance, should get into (the) coalition," he told AFP.

He said he will stand personally in four constituencies, but asked how many seats the APML could realistically win, he said: "Frankly I don't know. I think I will have a good judgment when I'll go there."

Political analysts believe Musharraf will be disappointed.

"He has no political future," Hasan Askari told AFP.

"He thinks that people are so annoyed by the outgoing government that they will join his party and support him, but it won't happen."

To preclude the prospect of his arrest on arrival, his daughter, Ayla Raza, petitioned a court in Karachi on his behalf for protective bail in three cases, including the 2007 assassination of Bhutto.

Judge Sajjad Ali Shah posted bail at 300,000 rupees ($3,000) over the 2007 sacking of judges, the 2006 death of Akbar Bugti, a Baluch rebel leader in the southwest, and the murder of Bhutto.

The decision prevents Musharraf being arrested for 10 days in connection with the judges' arrests and for 14 days in connection with the other two cases. Technically, Pakistan's Supreme Court could intervene to reverse the order.

Outside the court, a handful of APML activists flashed victory signs and chanted "Long Live Musharraf", but Zardari's spokesman, Farhatullah Babar, said Musharraf would not escape retribution.

"Inevitably he will face justice as neither the stern laws of nature pause for pity nor Musharraf will be allowed to violate laws of the land with impunity," he wrote in a text message to AFP.

In 2010, a UN report said Bhutto's death could have been prevented and accused Musharraf's government of failing to provide her with adequate protection.

Musharraf's government blamed the assassination on Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, who was killed in a US drone attack in August 2009.

A Nato soldier has been killed following a roadside bomb blast in eastern Afghanistan Friday, Isaf said.

"An International Security Assistance Force service member died following an improvised explosive device attack in eastern Afghanistan today," Isaf said in a statement Friday.

Isaf did not provide more details about the exact location of the blast and nationality of the solider.

Mostly US troops are based in eastern Afghanistan.

It comes as last week an improvised explosive device killed one Nato soldier and wounded another in eastern Ghazni province.

The death brings the number of foreign troop deaths in the Afghan war to 22 this year.

There are around 100,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan helping over 300,000 Afghan security forces fight insurgency.

At least 60 Taliban insurgents have been killed in Afghan raids over the Nowruz holiday in north-eastern Badakhshan province, local officials said.

Military operations were launched over the last two days in the province's Warduj district with the security forces calling for air support, provincial spokesman Abdul Maroof Rasikh said.

The Taliban has denied the high number of casualties.

The operation comes two weeks after 16 Afghan policemen and soldiers were ambushed and killed in a Taliban attack.

The ground operation by the Afghan army, police and intelligence personnel is still in progress, according to Rasikh, who said the dead included some Taliban commanders.

However, he did not name the militant leaders killed.

Warduj is in the north-east of Badakhshan, close to the border of Tajikistan and the Wakhan corridor. There are areas with a strong insurgent presence where local Afghan security forces are frequently targeted.

The people of Afghanistan should stand against any security agreement with the US because it will only further destabilise the country, the Minister of Energy and Water and former jihadi leaderMohammad Ismail Khan said Friday.

Speaking in Herat at the ninth anniversary of his son's death, Ismail Khan said that the US-led foreign forces had achieved nothing in the past 12 years, in fact, they were the reason for the rising insecurity in the country.

Ismail Khan, who is also the former governor of western Herat province, said such an agreement with US or any other country will only lead to a continuation of war and insecurity in Afghanistan.

Such pacts would hold Afghanistan back from self-sustainability and the country would remain dependent on other nations for many more years, he said.

"We shouldn't sign a document by which we would remain dependent, wandering, miserable and at the same time have no other option but to accept foreigners. We shouldn't sign this pact," Ismail Khan said before the hundreds of people gathered for the anniversary of his son, Mirwais Sadiq, who was the Minister of Civil Aviation when he was killed in 2004.

The US and Afghanistan signed a long-term strategic agreement last year, but the security pact governing the presence of US troops in Afghanistan after 2014 is still to be agreed on.

Ismail Khan said that despite having tens of thousands of troops and special equipment, the US forces had not achieved anything since 2001 and war and death continues in many parts of the country.

"With the largest laser weapons, and most up-to-date forces - from marines to the commando special forces - it came to Afghanistan, many operations were carried out, but they didn't bring security. Now you know why there is no security made," he said.

Ismail Khan urged that the government of Afghanistan should call for assistance from countries that do not seek to occupy it.