Qazi Nasir Mudassir said he had expected that if armed men climbed over the walls of his radio station’s compound, they would probably be Taliban insurgents coming to make good on death threats because of his broadcasts.
Instead, by his account and that of the local Afghan police, the armed men were American Special Forces troops, who scaled his walls with ladders, arresting Mr. Mudassir and two other employees of Radio Paighame Milli.
The station, which Mr. Mudassir owns, broadcasts in the Mohammad Agha district of Logar Province, an area troubled by insurgent activity, just 30 miles south of Kabul.
After all three were released without charges the next day, Mr. Mudassir at first refused to discuss what happened, but he accused American soldiers of beating him and threatening to kill him to extract information during his detention. They were apparently unaware, he said, that his radio station is supported in large part by pro-government, pro-coalition propaganda advertisements paid for by the American military.
The arrests, which briefly cut off the station’s broadcasts, also drew protests from Afghan journalists’ groups.
The American military initially had no comment beyond a tersely worded statement released Saturday in the name of the International Security Assistance Forces Joint Command, claiming that the raid was a largely Afghan operation.
“We can confirm an Afghan-led combined operation occurred on Feb. 27 in Mohammad Agha district due to reporting of potential enemy activity,” the statement said. “Afghan forces detained three individuals until the presence of heavy weapons and fighting positions at the location could be investigated further.”
Spokesmen for the Afghan Ministry of Interior, which is in charge of police units, and the Ministry of Defense, said they were unaware of the operation.
The Afghan police chief in the Mohammad Agha district, Abdul Wakil Haqyar, said the local police had not found out about what he said was an American Special Forces operation until it was already underway on Thursday. “The operation was independent and not coordinated with us,” he said. No Afghan police units, local or national, were involved in the operation, he said.
The American military maintains that it no longer conducts unilateral raids and operates only in conjunction with Afghan units, according to an agreement with the Afghan government. But many Afghan officials have complained that during operations by Special Operations and Special Forces troops, Afghan units are still often given only a secondary or token role if they are present.
Mr. Mudassir said a force of more than two dozen Americans carried out the raid, ransacking his premises and damaging much of the broadcasting equipment, as well as seizing computers, phones and recording gear. “They even put that black hood over my head and slapped me and beat me,” he said.
“They treated us inhumanely even though we were very pro their presence, and pro-government,” Mr. Mudassir said. He said that he had been taken to the United States Army’s Special Forces base in Logar and held overnight, and that interrogators had tried to get him to identify photographs of people suspected of being insurgents. “They said, ‘You better tell the truth because you know if we want to kill you we can.’ “
Radio Paighame Milli, which has been operating for 11 years, broadcasts a mixture of news, cultural and religious programming. Abdul Hameed, the governor of the Mohammad Agha district, praised it as a positive force.
Mr. Mudassir said one of his major advertisers was ISAF, which pays him to run about 10 pro-government announcements a day. For doing so, he said, he has received death threats from the Taliban. Six years ago, the station’s compound was damaged in a Taliban attack, said the police chief, Mr. Haqyar.
According to Mr. Haqyar, during the raid the Americans confiscated two AK-47 assault rifles, a rocket-propelled grenade launcher and ammunition for both. Mr. Mudassir said he needed the arms to defend himself from insurgents. Mr. Haqyar said he should have left the security arrangements to the police, who had a checkpoint nearby.
The police said Mr. Mudassir had permits for the assault rifles, but not for the grenade launcher.
Later Saturday, an American official said Afghan National Security Forces conducted the operation with American assistance in response to intelligence related to a militant network. “The search was conducted after ANSF received reports of pro-Haqqani network message broadcasts and insurgents using the facility for weapons storage,” the official said, declining to be identified by name as a matter of military policy.
The official also said, “No equipment or material was broken during the operation.”
Sediqullah Tawhidi, who runs the Nai Media Watch unit, a group that campaigns to protect journalists in Afghanistan, said the raid “was an illegal act.”
“So far as I know this was a unilateral operation conducted by ISAF forces,” Mr. Tawhidi said, “and they released the three radio staff they detained, which shows they did not have evidence to prove their guilt.”
The journalists’ association in Logar Province has threatened to go on strike over the arrests, said a member, Khanwali Ahmadzai.
Mr. Mudassir said he would continue to broadcast the ISAF announcements. “It’s my responsibility, and they’ve paid me,” he said.(NYTimes)
Instead, by his account and that of the local Afghan police, the armed men were American Special Forces troops, who scaled his walls with ladders, arresting Mr. Mudassir and two other employees of Radio Paighame Milli.
The station, which Mr. Mudassir owns, broadcasts in the Mohammad Agha district of Logar Province, an area troubled by insurgent activity, just 30 miles south of Kabul.
After all three were released without charges the next day, Mr. Mudassir at first refused to discuss what happened, but he accused American soldiers of beating him and threatening to kill him to extract information during his detention. They were apparently unaware, he said, that his radio station is supported in large part by pro-government, pro-coalition propaganda advertisements paid for by the American military.
The arrests, which briefly cut off the station’s broadcasts, also drew protests from Afghan journalists’ groups.
The American military initially had no comment beyond a tersely worded statement released Saturday in the name of the International Security Assistance Forces Joint Command, claiming that the raid was a largely Afghan operation.
“We can confirm an Afghan-led combined operation occurred on Feb. 27 in Mohammad Agha district due to reporting of potential enemy activity,” the statement said. “Afghan forces detained three individuals until the presence of heavy weapons and fighting positions at the location could be investigated further.”
Spokesmen for the Afghan Ministry of Interior, which is in charge of police units, and the Ministry of Defense, said they were unaware of the operation.
The Afghan police chief in the Mohammad Agha district, Abdul Wakil Haqyar, said the local police had not found out about what he said was an American Special Forces operation until it was already underway on Thursday. “The operation was independent and not coordinated with us,” he said. No Afghan police units, local or national, were involved in the operation, he said.
The American military maintains that it no longer conducts unilateral raids and operates only in conjunction with Afghan units, according to an agreement with the Afghan government. But many Afghan officials have complained that during operations by Special Operations and Special Forces troops, Afghan units are still often given only a secondary or token role if they are present.
Mr. Mudassir said a force of more than two dozen Americans carried out the raid, ransacking his premises and damaging much of the broadcasting equipment, as well as seizing computers, phones and recording gear. “They even put that black hood over my head and slapped me and beat me,” he said.
“They treated us inhumanely even though we were very pro their presence, and pro-government,” Mr. Mudassir said. He said that he had been taken to the United States Army’s Special Forces base in Logar and held overnight, and that interrogators had tried to get him to identify photographs of people suspected of being insurgents. “They said, ‘You better tell the truth because you know if we want to kill you we can.’ “
Radio Paighame Milli, which has been operating for 11 years, broadcasts a mixture of news, cultural and religious programming. Abdul Hameed, the governor of the Mohammad Agha district, praised it as a positive force.
Mr. Mudassir said one of his major advertisers was ISAF, which pays him to run about 10 pro-government announcements a day. For doing so, he said, he has received death threats from the Taliban. Six years ago, the station’s compound was damaged in a Taliban attack, said the police chief, Mr. Haqyar.
According to Mr. Haqyar, during the raid the Americans confiscated two AK-47 assault rifles, a rocket-propelled grenade launcher and ammunition for both. Mr. Mudassir said he needed the arms to defend himself from insurgents. Mr. Haqyar said he should have left the security arrangements to the police, who had a checkpoint nearby.
The police said Mr. Mudassir had permits for the assault rifles, but not for the grenade launcher.
Later Saturday, an American official said Afghan National Security Forces conducted the operation with American assistance in response to intelligence related to a militant network. “The search was conducted after ANSF received reports of pro-Haqqani network message broadcasts and insurgents using the facility for weapons storage,” the official said, declining to be identified by name as a matter of military policy.
The official also said, “No equipment or material was broken during the operation.”
Sediqullah Tawhidi, who runs the Nai Media Watch unit, a group that campaigns to protect journalists in Afghanistan, said the raid “was an illegal act.”
“So far as I know this was a unilateral operation conducted by ISAF forces,” Mr. Tawhidi said, “and they released the three radio staff they detained, which shows they did not have evidence to prove their guilt.”
The journalists’ association in Logar Province has threatened to go on strike over the arrests, said a member, Khanwali Ahmadzai.
Mr. Mudassir said he would continue to broadcast the ISAF announcements. “It’s my responsibility, and they’ve paid me,” he said.(NYTimes)
Source : Afghan Voice Agency (AVA), International Service
