Road opening stalls Afghan constitutional convention

DURANI, Afghanistan -- Afghanistan on Tuesday inaugurated the refurbished Kabul-Kandahar highway, a vital artery plagued by killings and kidnappings that has emerged as a symbol of the country's reconstruction efforts.

Sixty Afghan delegates debating a new constitution in Kabul were flown in by helicopter to join President Hamid Karzai and the U.S. ambassador at the ceremony on a barren stretch of asphalt 25 miles southwest of the capital. Many of the delegates were wearing traditional flowing robes and sporting turbans or flat woolen hats.

The absence of the delegates stalled debate at the constitutional convention, already proceeding at a snail's pace on its third day. Some 500 delegates have so far elected a chairman and four deputies, but have accomplished little else. They were expected to divide into 10 groups today for closed-door discussions of the 160-article draft presented by Karzai's interim government.

At the ceremony, hundreds of U.S. and Afghan soldiers stood guard as Karzai cut a ribbon stretched across the smooth new tarmac along a sparse section of the road in a valley.

The highway was retooled over 11 months despite an onslaught of Taliban attacks against road workers, mine clearers and security personnel.

"We are standing, literally, on the road to Afghanistan's future," U.S. ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said.

The $270 million project, funded mostly by the American government, was vital to Afghanistan's recovery after 23 years of war, Karzai said. "I'm sure it will have its effect and its impact on the economy."

Early Tuesday, the Afghan leader called President Bush, who praised Karzai for completing the project "under budget and ahead of schedule," according to a White House statement.

Bush said it underscores the United States' commitment to helping the Afghan people rebuild their country.

"It will promote political unity between Afghanistan's provinces, facilitate commerce by making it easier to bring products to market, and provide the Afghan people with greater access to health care and educational opportunities," Bush said in a statement.

The entire road "when completed, will run through the heart of Afghanistan, helping to unify that great nation," he said.

The project has been plagued by a spate of shootings and kidnappings by insurgents.

Tuesday's ceremony took place by a slab of pale marble engraved with the names of four Afghan security guards killed in a gunfight with suspected Taliban militants Aug. 31.

The Taliban are still holding two Indian engineers abducted Dec. 6.

"They are the victims of those Taliban extremists who want the new Afghanistan to fail," the U.S. ambassador said.

Billions in reconstruction aid have flowed into Afghanistan after a U.S.-led offensive drove the Taliban from power two years ago for harboring Osama bin Laden.

The 300-mile highway from the capital to Kandahar, the Taliban's former stronghold, is the country's main route. About one-third of the population lives within 30 miles of the road.

Resurfacing has cut travel time between the two Afghan cities from 16 hours to about six, helping knit the country and its devastated economy back together.

Three rockets slammed into the capital early Tuesday, but they landed far from the site of the loya jirga, or grand council, and caused no casualties.

The attack highlighted security concerns amid fears the Taliban would target the session.

Still, Abdul Jabar Naimi, a representative of Kandahar said "everyone is keen to press on and pass the constitution."

"People want to see the government in control," said Ahmad Wali Karzai, a younger brother of the president also from Kandahar. "Whoever is behind the attacks is the loser, the people are sick and tired of this."