Karzai calls for renewed world commitment to Afghanistan
Afghan President Hamid Karzai today urged developed countries and international aid agencies to renew their commitment to rebuilding the economy of his war-ravaged country.
Karzai told an international conference on Afghanistan that the tasks of reconstructing his country and restoring peace to the region remained largely unfinished.
“To those of our partners who may be pondering their continued involvement in Afghanistan, I say the job is not over and the stakes are still very high,” Karzai told leaders from around 19 countries who gathered in India’s capital New Delhi for the two-day conference on Afghanistan.
Karzai described extremism and terrorism as the twin challenges to peace in the region, and stressed the need for international military forces in Afghanistan.
“To win this war (on international terrorism), we need the enduring partnership of solid and unwavering allies,” he said.
Fighting extremism needs collective effort, Karzai said, possibly in an indirect reference to neighboring Pakistan, where the Afghan government says Taliban militants stay. At least 3,700 Afghans have been killed this year in attacks carried out by Taliban rebels.
The conference has brought together Afghanistan’s neighbors, including Pakistan, Iran and China, and members of the G8 group of industrialised nations.
“I hope the conference will bring to Afghanistan what we so badly need: assistance, investment and lasting stability,” Karzai said.
His plea for a greater financial commitment was echoed by many of the leaders at the meeting.
India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told the conference that despite Afghanistan’s “remarkable transformation” over the last five years, the country still faces the challenges of poverty, unemployment and a lack of infrastructure.
Expressing concern at the increased terrorist violence in parts of southern and south-eastern Afghanistan, Singh said it had not only undermined the country’s security but was hindering ongoing development efforts.
The regional economic cooperation conference on Afghanistan, the second of its kind, is expected to focus on identifying projects that will benefit both Afghanistan and its neighbours.
The meeting will also discuss ways to encourage regional cooperation in combatting the drug trade that flows through Afghanistan, and to address the issue of scarce shared water resources, according to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, which is co-hosting the conference with the Afghan Foreign Ministry.
Karzai arrived in New Delhi last night and immediately called for cooperation from neighboring Pakistan in quelling a pro-Taliban insurgency that is hampering reconstruction efforts in his country.
Many Taliban fighters and their al Qaida allies fled to Pakistan after US-led forces defeated the Taliban in 2001, and Afghan officials say militants continue to operate in the tribal border regions there, and cross into Afghanistan to carry out attacks.
Karzai, speaking at a joint news conference with Singh in the Indian capital yesterday, said Afghans were suffering because of militant-linked violence.
“We are not blaming the government of Pakistan,” he said. “We are seeking help from the government of Pakistan.”
Representatives from the World Bank, the United Nations and other multilateral agencies are taking part in the conference. Other participants include representatives from Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
The first such conference, hosted by Britain and Afghanistan, was held in the Afghan capital, Kabul, in December last year.
