Afghan elections: Stirring violence and hope
As campaigning begins for a landmark presidential poll, we ask if Afghanistan is ready to go it alone.
Campaigning has started for Afghanistan’s presidential election, raising both hope and the spectre of yet more violence.
Even before posters could be put up, two aides of a leading candidate were shot dead.
The upcoming polls are set against a mood of cautious optimism, and continued uncertainty.
The Taliban has rejected the April 5 election. And outgoing President Hamid Karzai has stalled on signing a deal on whether to keep a small force of US troops in Afghanistan beyond 2014.
On Inside Story: Can Afghanistan ensure a safe election and a secure future as foreign troops prepare to leave?
Presenter: Shiulie Ghosh
Guests:
Sediq Seddiqi, a spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Interior
Peter Middlebrook, the CEO of Geopolicity, and a former adviser to the Afghan government
Ahmad Nader Nadery, the founder and chairman of the Free and Fair Election Forum of Afghanistan