Karzai unveils new Afghan currency
KABUL, Afghanistan
President Hamid Karzai announced the issuing of a new currency yesterday, designed to end the confusion from several forms of money now in circulation and provide a symbol of Afghan renewal and unity.
On the same day, Afghanistan handed over 55 longtime Pakistani prisoners who had fought on the side of the ousted Taliban regime to their government, saying they no longer posed a danger here.
Rumors of the new currency had abounded in recent days, causing extreme volatility at the money changers' stands around the country. Karzai's announcement seemed aimed at averting panic among the public that their existing currency would become worthless.
In a nationally broadcast address, he assured Afghans that they would not lose money during the introduction of the new bills.
"In order to get rid of inflation, our economists and commercial consultants decided to remove three zeros from the old afghanis," he said.
"Do not worry. No matter how much you have, you can freely exchange all your old afghanis at the nearest bank in all parts of Afghanistan," he promised. "If banks are crowded or not available, you can change your money with money changers."
The current afghanis, which over the past year have been valued at about 40,000 to the U.S. dollar, will be replaced by new afghanis valued at about 40 to the dollar. The new currency, like the old, will float with the market and will be backed by the nation's gold and hard-currency reserves.
Karzai said the new currency will be honored throughout the country. Presently, variants of the afghani bill circulate in areas formerly controlled by North Alliance forces that overthrew the Taliban last fall with the help of U.S.-led forces. In addition, several foreign currencies, including the U.S. dollar and the Pakistani rupee, are widely used.
"People will be proud," Karzai said. "The new money will have value, and in the exchange markets it will be stable and credible."
The government said two planeloads of the new notes have arrived in Kabul, the capital, and the exchange of the notes will begin soon. The bills are being printed in Germany using the latest techniques to foil counterfeiters, Finance Ministry officials said.
The switch in part will allow the Central Bank, for the first time, to determine how many afghanis are in circulation.
Meanwhile, Afghan officials characterized the release of the prisoners to Pakistan as the beginning of an exchange. But some here feared that the gesture may boomerang if those released return to take up arms against the U.S.-led multinational forces in Afghanistan.
The 55 prisoners had fought under the Taliban regime until being captured by resistance forces before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Another 55 are due to be turned over to Pakistan today.
"Those deemed not a threat to this country or others as terrorists and not wanted by any other country were returned to Pakistan," said Omar Samad, a Foreign Ministry spokesman.
The first batch included several aged men and some people on crutches. Reporters in Kabul were not allowed to interview them.
Although Pakistan has made no commitment, the Afghan government is hoping to receive in exchange significant numbers of its citizens being held in Pakistani jails on minor charges such as theft and improper documentation, Samad said in an interview earlier this week.
The Pakistani prisoners turned over yesterday, some of whom had spent as many as six years in the custody of militias that opposed the Taliban regime, were brought to Kabul's airport and turned over to the Pakistani ambassador, Rustam Shah Mohmand. They were flown by military transport to Peshawar, Pakistan, where they were jailed again.
Pakistani authorities will determine whether the prisoners will be freed, face charges for various crimes or held as potential terrorist threats, the Afghan government said.
Samad said the Pakistanis sent home yesterday are believed to be religious militants, many of whom thought they were enlisting to chase U.S. or Russian "infidels" out of Muslim Afghanistan. All were captured before the Sept. 11 attacks and the ensuing offensive by U.S.-led forces that drove the Taliban government from power.
U.S. military and diplomatic officials have expressed reservations about the hand-over, citing the possibility that some of those freed will return and regroup to attack Afghanistan.

Politician wrongly used funds for campaign
JAKARTA, Indonesia
The speaker of parliament was convicted yesterday and sentenced to three years in prison for stealing $4.5 million intended for the poor and using the money in a political campaign.
Akbar Tandjung's conviction marked one of the few times that an official has been found guilty of such a crime in Indonesia, which is widely viewed as one of the most corrupt countries.