国际英语新闻：Afghan presidential, provincial council polls to prove epoch-making

KABUL, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Turning out to the polling stations to elect their new president and 420 provincial council members, the Afghan people has embarked upon a crucial exercise that possibly play an effective role in shaping their future.

The election, second after the removal of the Taliban government in 2001, not only serves as a benchmark to assess the level of political advancement in Afghanistan, but also helps bring issues, pertaining to the country's security, socio-economic development, governance and drug control, to the spotlight.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai returns from inspecting the guard of honor during Independence Day celebrations at the Defence Ministry compound in Kabul August 19, 2009.

Over 90,000-strong international forces and thousands of Afghan National Army (ANA) and Afghan police soldiers are battling Taliban insurgents, who, in recent weeks, have intensified their rebellious activities beyond perception.

McChrystal, the commander of the NATO-led forces in Afghanistan, in an interview with Wall Street Journal a couple of days ago, said that "the Taliban are moving beyond their traditional strongholds in southern Afghanistan to threaten formerly stable areas in the north and west."

An Afghan national army soldier keeps watches at the vehicle check point in Kandahar province, August 19, 2009.

Two weeks ago, the Taliban killed a district chief in the northern Kunduz province. Earlier, Mohammad Qasim Fahim, President Karzai's running mate in the presidential elections, escaped an ambush in Kunduz while the former president, Burhanuddin Rabbani was attacked in the same area last week.

Earlier this month, the Taliban, for the first time in many months, fired a barrage of rockets in Kabul city from Dah-e Sabz, a locality 15 kilometer north of the capital.

Afghan national army soldiers prepare a machine gun at a vehicle check point in Kandahar province August 19, 2009.

Similarly, seven persons were killed and over 90 others injured in a massive suicide attack at the gate of NATO-led forces headquarters in Kabul on Saturday. On Tuesday, similar attack also in Kabul left seven civilians dead and over 50 injured.

Furthermore, militants occupied a bank on Wednesday and after hours of gun battle with police three insurgents were killed.

Taliban militants, in a statement on Monday, called on Afghans to boycott the election, saying they would interrupt the voting process.

An Afghan policeman searches a car at a vehicle checkpoint in Kandahar province, August 18, 2009.

Despite threats from the militants, public enthusiasm kept on growing as the polling time is coming. It is reported that even some Taliban commanders did not agree with the call of Mulla Omar, their leader, to disrupt the polls.

Media analysis and opinion polls have shown that in face of the failure of the international forces to ensure security and contain insurgency, the Afghan intelligentsia and the masses have become more conscious, realizing the need to determine the political leadership of their country by themselves.

The new Afghan political administration - whether under Karzai or any other president - would have to pay more attention to the socio-economic development of the country.

According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Afghanistan is the poorest country in the entire Asia and Pacific region.

The ADB economic indicator said: "Lack of employment opportunities and endemic poverty continue among a large segment of the population, with two thirds of the population living below or just above the country's official poverty line."

The new Afghan government would also have to ensure good governance and tackle the issue of corruption, which is rampant in Afghanistan.

Western governments and international organizations have in recent months taken a serious exception to corruption and misadministration, which is hampering their plans to putting Afghanistan back on track.

Besides, it would be under obligation to control the monster of narcotics production and smuggling, which continues to rank Afghanistan as the top drug producing country of the world.

The present election is a turning point in Afghanistan's political history.

The problems unearthed and worries exposed during the election process have equally obliged the upcoming leadership, the U.S.-led international coalition, and the Afghan people and their political forces to look into the imbroglio from a totally changed perspective.