Karzai calls for Nato to withdraw troops from rural areas
Nato-led troops should pull back from rural areas and villages to main bases and Afghan troops should take the lead for countrywide security in 2013, president Hamid Karzai said today.
He said Afghan troops are ready to take over protecting their country.
The transfer of authority should happen before the current target date, which is the end of 2014, he said.
He said he had informed US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta.
Meanwhile the Taliban said it is suspending talks with the United States.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement that the US kept changing the terms of the negotiations.
Mujahid said the Taliban only wanted to discuss prisoner transfers and the establishment of a political office in Qatar, but US negotiators wanted to broaden the discussion.
He said they did not want the Afghan government included in the talks.
