Le Figaro

« L’Homme qui devait mourir pour les Talibans »

 “The Confession of a former suicide bomber”, that’s the title of the French newspaper Le Figaro.

Abed, a 22 year old man, told the newspaper how he got involved with the Taliban.

He was born in Pakistan and survived on small jobs.

He became friends with a work colleague, a painter, who asked him to go on holiday in the mountains of Waziristan.

That’s at the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

There, they stayed at his colleague’s friends, who were in fact Taliban insurgents.

Abed says he had no idea who they were.

They all became close friends and for five months, the Taliban reportedly influenced Abed.

They told him to be a “good Muslim”, they taught him the Koran, and then they showed him videos of dead women and children, who they say were killed by the Americans.

This outrages Abed, who turned against the US.

The Taliban told him that if he died as a martyr, God would let 70 members of his family go to heaven. 

So Abed was ready to blow himself up and to die for Islam.

He went to a checkpoint to kill Americans, but when he got there he realised there were Muslims there.

He realised the Taliban tricked him, and he handed himself in to the authorities.

He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The Guardian

“Afghan media blackout plunges election day into confusion and fear”

Violence and threats from the Taliban, is reportedly scaring voters away from the polls.

 According to the Guardian, Afghan authorities have decided to ban the media from covering Taliban attacks, to boost turn-out.

This has shocked the international community, who says it’s goes against press freedom.

The United Nations have asked for the ban to be lifted.

The International Herald Tribune

“In a crowded race, the real faces of Afghanistan emerge”

The International Herald Tribune talks about a “crowded race”

It says we’re far from the first Presidential election five years ago, when there were only 18 candidates.

For the current election, there were originally 41 candidates. Amongst them, two women, a caretaker and a fortune teller.

The article explains that it’s because of the novelty of elections, in Afghanistan.

This is only the second democratic election since the Taliban were toppled.

The newspaper warns that hardly any of these small candidates will win more than 1%, let alone dislodge President Karzai.

National Post

“What level of fraud will be acceptable in Afghan election?”

The Canadian paper, the National Post reports that voter registration cards are openly sold in the streets of Afghanistan.

Somebody has reportedly registered the singer Britney Spears.

The newspaper says that this phenomenon is likely to cause doubts over the final results.

And an illegitimate election could benefit the Taliban, says the article.

If no one wins an outright majority today and the vote goes to a second round in October, the newspaper says the Taliban is likely to increase violence.