Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Question 93: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the political and security situation in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33269/05]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 143: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report progress on the situation in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33710/05]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 93 and 143 together.

I would refer the Deputies to my comprehensive reply to Questions Nos. 76 and 112 of 6 October on the security, political and humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. The security situation remains a matter of serious concern. On 21 October nine policemen were killed when suspected Taliban rebels ambushed their convoy in Kandahar province. A British soldier participating in the international security assistance force in Afghanistan was killed in an attack in Mazar-e-Sharif on 29 October in which five of his colleagues were injured.

I referred in my reply of 6 October to the successful holding of parliamentary and provincial elections on 18 September. Certified results of the elections to the lower house of Parliament, the Wolesi Jirga, and to provincial councils are now available for most of Afghanistan's provinces. The results from a small number of provinces, including Kabul, have not yet been certified by the joint electoral management body, JEMB, an independent body set up to administer and oversee the electoral process, but are expected in the coming days. Analysis of the results confirms that the Wolesi Jirga, as expected, will be highly fragmented with neither government nor opposition having a majority. Ethnically, it will be a hung Parliament, with a fine balance between Pashtun and non-Pashtun groups.

Provinces with certified results are scheduled to hold inaugural meetings of the provincial councils on 10 November. Representatives to the upper house, the Meshrano Jirga, will be elected by the provincial councils on 12 November. President Karzai will nominate one third of the membership of the upper house.

The EU General Affairs and External Relations Council, at its meeting on 7 November, approved a draft EU-Afghanistan Joint Declaration committing the EU to a new EU-Afghan partnership which is due to be signed with Afghanistan on 16 November.