News of the Day for Sunday, December 23, 2012

Bakhtar news says local media report an attack on a NATO convoy on the highway between Kabul and Tourkham results in death of 3 NATO soldiers. However, there is no confirmation and no announcement from ISAF as of this posting.

Three Polish soldiers are injured in Ghazni.

Mine (or IED) kills one border guard and injures two in Nangarhar.

Fire destroys the cloth market in Kabul, reducing hundreds of shops to ashes. There is no indication of sabotage, but the event draws attention to poor fire safety in the capital.

The lower house of parliament rejects the governments 2013 budget, citing insufficient funds for the poorest provinces and lavish spending on the presidential palace. (You go! -- C)

President Karzai blames foreigners for corruption in Afghanistan. (No comment.)

We seem to be coming into this story in the middle, but apparently Pakistan has complained that its nationals have been tortured by Afghan forces. The victims were guest workers with valid documents. The Afghan Foreign Ministry says it is investigating.

Pakistan's top general Ashfaq Kayani is publicly committed to promoting peace in Afghanistan, fearing dangerous disorder when NATO troops depart. He is sending signals that Pakistan is no longer seeking to maintain influence through alliance with insurgents, but rather to try to live alongside a stable Afghanistan. (Lovely if true. -- C)

Paris peace conference concludes with parties making generally optimistic noises, however Taliban are demanding constitutional changes, which could be highly problematic.