I am Mohammad Taher, resident of Dashte Barchi, 8th grade student of Abdul Rahman Shaheed Secondary School. My question to the President is this. You, Mr President, came to our area some time ago. You delivered a speech. In your speech you promised the people of the west side of Kabul that you would build a hospital for the people in this area. Regretfully you did not implement your promise. The promise was only in words.
My dear brother Mohammad Taher, I very well remember that I came to Dashte Barchi. I listened to the people's complaints about a health clinic, electric power, and roads. I believe the Minister of Health was also with us on that day. They have worked on this issue. A few days ago I asked them about this matter. The Minister of Public Health told me that the MSF existing clinic with one doctor and 3 nurses has been assigned to be on service for this area for 24 hours. The Red Cross hospital is also located in that area. Furthermore the west side of Kabul is a part of Kabul City, there are many hospitals in the city of Kabul. They are not for the city of Kabul only, but are at the service for all the people of Afghanistan. The 400 bed hospital, Wazir Akbar Khan hospital, and Jamhooriat Hospital, many more hospitals and clinics are in Kabul. Of course it would be better if we had hospitals in each district, in every section of Kabul, in every county, multiple hospitals in every province of Afghanistan. To have hospitals in all those places needs time, and depends on a country's development. Perhaps it will take years.
My dear brother, a hospital is not just a building. By constructing a building we cannot have a hospital. Hospitals require doctors, nurses, laboratory specialists, technicians, and many more things. Some countries have hospitals, clinics, and other health facilities in every part of the city, and every part of the country, as a result of decades, perhaps centuries of educational and industrial development and hard work. We too, as a nation, must have education, must educate the required number of people for the medical profession, our economy must also develop to enable us to have hospitals and health clinics and other health facilities in every part of the city and every part of the country. Regarding electric power I have good news for you that electric power for Kabul City and the west side of Kabul, have been revived, and according to the Minister of Water and Power, it will soon be started.
My name is Abdullah; I am a resident of Muqur County of Ghazni province. My question to Mr Karzai the president is this: In the Constitution that has been passed in the Loya Jerga, and you have signed it after it was passed, changes have been effected. Why have those changes been made in the Constitution? Who has given the authority for those changes? In Article 16, one item has been increased; in the Article a 50th part of the National Assembly decision has been deleted. It is my question to ask why changes and deletions have taken place in the Constitution after it has been ratified by your signature.
My dear brother Abdullah the resident of Ghazni; The Constitution that has been brought to me for signature by the Constitution Commission and the Secretariat of Loya Jerga, had the signature of Hazrat Sahib Mujadedi on each page of it, then each page at the bottom of it had the signatures of Messrs. Shahrani Sahib, Ashari Sahib, Azimi Sahib and Danish Sahib, all four of them are members of the Constitution Commission. They, together with the United Nations envoy, at the end of Loya Jerga, had gone through the Constitution for correction purposes, then they signed and brought it to me for my signature ratification. I have signed that Constitution Content that came under suspicion for changes. The fact is the 24 hours before the conclusion of Loya Jerga, Mr Mujadedi, the president of Loya Jerga had certain understandings with the Loya Jerga representatives, on the basis of those understandings he had told the representatives that some corrections, including some writing correction, would have to be made in the Constitution, after the conclusion of Loya Jerga. Mr Mujadedi had the original Constitution two days before the conclusion of Loya Jerga, but the Constitution they brought to me for signature was the corrected Constitution, that it did not have Mr Mujadedi's original signature.
It was the corrected Constitution that he signed, and also the four members of the Constitution Commission signed, and then brought to me for signature. This is the explanation of the changes in the Constitution.
Now if some brothers suspect the Constitution has been interfered with, and the real Constitution has not been ratified, it would have been better that they had discussed this issue with the members of the Constitution Commission and Mr Mujadedi. I believe the representatives have contacted the members of the Constitution Commission and Mr Mujadedi inquiring about the changes, and they have fully explained the detail that happened in connection with the Constitution correction, and I am satisfied with their explanation in the matter. I believe the content of the Constitution, which I signed, was complete and was acceptable to me.
My name is Mohammad Aref Payman, employee of the Olympic National Committee. My question to Karzai is this: During the Nationwide Sports Conference, Mr Karzai, in his speech to sportsmen and athletes said, "Hard work from you, help from us." All sportsmen and athletes worked hard during the current year, obtained championship medals from overseas games, but so far no help from you Mr Karzai, as you promised.
My dear brother Mohammad Aref Payman, we are proud that our sportsmen and athletes obtained championship medals so soon. Afghanistan is proud of all of you. As far as I know, according to the report of the Olympic President, our sportsmen and athletes have improved significantly compared with two years ago. If you think they have not improved, something is lacking, they do not receive proper help, proper food, and other requirements, the President of the Olympics, Mr Anwar Jegdaleg, has gone abroad for a visit to Greece to participate in Olympic issues, when he comes back I will talk to him and find out what is needed. I will ask him in connection with your question, and I want to hear from him directly what is needed, then whatever is needed will be provided, reforms will be carried out through the Olympic Committee.
I think the conditions of sports and athletic activities have improved significantly. I have no time to detail here all the improvements as I do not have enough time, and I do not want to waste your time. But some of the improvements in brief are the following: The suspension situation with regard to participation of our athletes in Olympic Games is over. Our National Olympic Committee has been recognized by the world Olympic organization officially. Participation of men and women has also been recognized on an equal basis. In Afghanistan the condition of sports and athletic activities in the provinces has improved appreciably. In future, all athletes and sportsmen and women will participate in all the nationwide games of Afghanistan from all provinces. Creation of programs for handicaps is another issue that will be taken care off. All these issues must fundamentally be strengthened. I will give you better answers in this connection when the President of the Olympics returns from his trip and I speak with him.
My name is Mohammad Ismail Waseem, second year Medical Institute student. I have two questions for the President of the Islamic Transitional Administration, Mr Karzai. If any candidate for the position of the President wins the election, what would be his work program? My second question is regarding national unity. We all talk of national unity. Sometime ago, after the Loya Jerga, Mr Anwarul Haq Ahadi, in one of his press conferences clearly said that those who have ruled in Afghanistan longest should be entitled to more privileges. Can we, with such ideas from our elders and higher authorities, bring national unity in the country?
My dear brother Ismail Khan, your questions are important. In reply to your first question, if I win the election for President that is coming, God willing, after a few months, my work program for Afghanistan reconstruction, especially in education and higher education that our young people benefit all over the country from a balanced educational program. The next important issue will be the health conditions in the country as one of our priorities. Improvement and reform in Agriculture is also on the list of priorities. Afghanistan, on the basis of Agriculture, can quickly stand on its own feet; can be an exporter of agricultural products to our neighboring countries, and perhaps other countries of the world. The condition of private investment must improve, and I will pay good attention to this issue in my program.
Regarding Afghanistan reconstruction, the program will continue in the area of physical reconstruction that is roads, dams, and electric power plants. In general we have a social reconstruction program in education, health, and improvement of the country's fiscal condition that our income and revenue depends on it.
With regard to your second question, in which according to Mr Ahadi, those who have ruled the country longest are entitled to more privileges.
I asked Mr Ahadi about this expression. He completely denied having said such a thing. Mr Ahadi is an educated person, for the last two years he has been cooperating with us as President of the Central Bank. I have noticed that he is a man of principle. I am happy with his performance. He gave the assurance that he never said any such thing, and he does not have this kind of idea.
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