Foreign troops should leave villages: Hamid Karzai
AP | 15th December, 2012
Afghan President Hamid Karzai. — Photo AFP/File
KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the US and Nato troops transferring security to Afghan forces should leave Afghan villages as soon as possible.
Karzai spoke Saturday on the opening day of a conference to develop Afghanistan’s foreign policy strategy for the next three years.
He said international forces will end their combat mission at the end of 2014. But he said that before that — in 2013 — Afghan forces will take charge of securing the entire nation.
Karzai said the sooner that transition can be completed, the better. He said he wanted the international troops to leave Afghan villages, draw back to their bases and slowly withdraw from there.
Afghans have suffered heavy losses for more than three decades and now the whole world should take sympathetic view of their sufferings. UN and other countries need to play a role for establishment of durable peace in the region. Afghans should also make it a point that they don,t allow any other power to use their land for proxy wars and start rebuilding their country.