Does the government maintain stockpiles of land mines?
Throughout Afghanistan, we have around 250 stockpiles of land mines. In Kabul there was a pilot destruction, which was very successful. Based on the Ottawa treaty we have to destroy all of our stockpiles by the beginning of 2007. This, technically speaking, is a huge task logistically. It requires time and resources to bring all the mines to secure destruction points. It is also a bit sensitive in some places and we have to deal with it carefully. Some of these stockpiles are with government military institutions such as the ministries of defence and interior and some are under the control of local commanders. Q: Are land mines still being used as offensive weapons in Afghanistan? A: This is a difficult question. I would say the major worry that we had a couple of years ago is no longer there. But with pockets of problems that take place from time to time in different parts of the country, especially in the south, no one would deny for sure that this will not happen again. The insurgen
