Designing Women: putting a roof over responsible government - hopefully

Regular visitors to this site will have noted, by now, an emphasis on critical reporting, especially about the many and varied weaknesses of the current Western-sponsored Kabul regime of President Hamid Karzai. But relief is on the way.

Several of our upcoming film reports and articles will focus on achievement and opportunity, both courtesy of that enduring, creative constituency that Western policy often undermines: the Afghan people, the citizenry, the true hearts of this troubled land.

On Wednesday of this week, skyreporter will look at the future of parliament. A beautiful new complex is being planned to house both upper and lower chambers, with construction set to begin later this year. One of the unique and promising aspects of the new structure: it has been designed and engineered almost entirely by Afghan women, the country’s unrivalled leaders in both fields.

On Friday, I’ll introduce you to one of the people who makes Afghanistan’s parliament work. He’s currently secretary-general of the Meshrano Jirga, or upper house of elders. I’ve known him for 20 years. A series of film reports will take us back to the wartime countryside during the Soviet occupation – where hunting the Red Army’s aircraft with Stinger missiles often meant becoming the hunted.

Next week, another former Holy Warrior turned peacemaker. This man was the first guerrilla commander I filmed back in 1980, during the first year of the Soviet war. A grass-roots fundamentalist, he was a kind and gracious host – and one of the Red Army’s most feared enemies in southern Afghanistan.

His disenchantment with the 1990’s civil war among the former mujahideen led him to join the Taliban. He became a deputy minister in the regime that hosted al Qaeda in the years leading to the atrocities of 9/11. Now he’s left the Taliban behind and sits in parliament in Kabul, striving to bridge the gap between the country’s warring parties. We’ll hear his thoughts on a negotiated peace, and the chances for achieving it.

Also coming up, we’ll go kite flying with Raz Mohammed. He’s the young man we profiled in the AFGHAN SURVIVOR series of film reports, which you'll find in Recent Stories for April 3rd, 4th and 5th. Since our last visit, Raz has had builders erect brick walls around the section of land given to him by the government as compensation for his wartime injury, the loss of both legs to a Soviet anti-personnel mine.

But, as always in Afghanistan, resolving one challenge leads to another: there are no rivers or streams in the area, so Raz and his neighbours will have to drill several wells to bring the new village to life. Keep an eye on skyreporter – you could become part of the solution.

Finally, there’s been more news recently from Pakistan about President Musharraf’s dysfunctional military regime and its persistent attempts to destabilize Afghanistan. Please see our previous film report, FANNING THE FLAMES, from March 15th.

We’ll be updating Pakistan’s covert support for the Taliban, and examine how the Bush administration’s lacklustre campaign to track down and destroy Osama bin Laden’s rump al Qaeda leadership has come undone.