KABUL: The reconstruction of Afghanistan over the next six months is key to maintaining popular Afghan support for the drive against Taliban insurgents, the Nato force said on Wednesday.

The campaign against the extremist insurgents depended on the support of ordinary people, the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.

Top ISAF commander General David Richards “believes that the next six months have to be used for effective reconstruction and development to ensure this continuing popular support,” Nato civilian spokesman Mark Laity told reporters.

“In this context he warned that if we did not exploit the success we gained in the south over the summer, the Taliban would try to take advantage of the war-weariness of the people over continued fighting to increase their own support,” Laity said.

Richards said in an interview at the weekend that 70 per cent of Afghans could begin to side with the Taliban if there was no major change in the security situation within six months.

Reading a statement from Richards, Laity said: “I know ISAF cannot take the support of ordinary Afghans for granted, and we must work tirelessly to justify the confidence they have given us.

“Having shown our skill and power in combat, we are now putting equal effort into supporting the reconstruction and development that will improve their lives and offer a real future to all.”

Richards is on a tour outside the country that began with a visit to neighbouring Pakistan, where he met President Pervez Musharraf and other top military officials on Tuesday.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have been at loggerheads over the Taliban insurgency, with Afghan officials charging Pakistan could be doing more against militants sheltering on its side of the border.

The visit was about exchanging information and cooperation, Laity said, rejecting reports that it amounted to a confrontation.

During the visit, Richards said a peace deal between Pakistani authorities and pro-Taliban militants in the North Waziristan tribal area bordering Afghanistan “could set an example how we should deal with these problems.”

Laity said the general was referring only to “trying to get local solutions working through the traditional leadership.”

“It certainly should not be interpreted that he approves of any meeting with the Taliban because we definitely do not negotiate directly with the Taliban,” he said.—AFP