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Karzai Wants Military Presence, Musharraf Pledges Full Support
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| Musharraf assured Karzai of full Pakistani support |
ISLAMABAD, Feb. 8 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Interim Afghan leader Hamid Karzai Friday called for a continued foreign military presence in Afghanistan until all terrorist cells are destroyed, while Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf assured him of Islamabad's full backing for Afghanistan and vowed his country would not interfere in its neighbor's affairs, news agencies reported.
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"We will use every force we have to defeat terrorism and finish it completely in Afghanistan and the rest of the world," Karzai said at a joint press conference with Musharraf in Islamabad, reported AFP.
Karzai said the Afghan people had struggled against terrorism, but it was necessary to have the backing of the international community to succeed.
Asked when he would say "enough is enough" to U.S. forces hunting down remnants of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda network still in Afghanistan, Karzai said the war would continue to the end.
"We paid tremendous sacrifices, but that sacrifice had to be helped in order to achieve the result, and the war against terrorism is not yet over. It is going on," he said. "If you come to Afghanistan you will see what they have done to us. It's unbelievable, shocking ... there is absolutely no way we can let down on that."
In addition to the terrorist threat, outbreaks of tribal and ethnic infighting between warlords has raised fears that Afghanistan will descend again into civil war and brought into question the authority of the interim administration outside Kabul.
Karzai said his repeated appeals to world leaders for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to be expanded was supported by most Afghans.
"Almost all of them have asked us for the continuation of those forces in Afghanistan and for the expansion of those forces to the countryside.
"So the fight against terrorism will go to the very end of it. We have seen the consequences in our country. Complete provinces have been destroyed."
The ISAF force is currently restricted to 4,500 personnel and is confined to Kabul.
Although senior UN officials have suggested 30,000 would be needed to secure the country, Karzai's appeals to both the United Nations and Britain to widen the mandate and provide additional support have so far gone unrewarded.
For his part, Musharraf gave his "complete assurance ... Pakistan will remain with Afghanistan in all its endeavors to improve the lot of Afghanistan. "Pakistan is extremely interested in having a peaceful, stable, united and prosperous Afghanistan as its brotherly neighbor," Musharraf said.
Pakistan supported the now-ousted Taliban regime, but Musharraf said the two leaders agreed not to allow their territories to be used against each in future.
"We wish to conduct our relations with Afghanistan based on principles of sovereign equality, non-interference and mutual interest."
Pakistani troops are not welcome in Afghanistan but Islamabad has offered to cooperate with logistics support for the International Security Assistance Force and the planned reconstruction effort.
In addition to 100 million dollars already pledged towards the reconstruction of Afghanistan, Musharraf Friday added another 10 million dollars for the "cash flow needs" of the war-ravaged country.
Hamid Karzai has arrived in Pakistan on Friday for talks with Musharraf.
This is the first official visit by Karzai to Islamabad since the fall of Afghanistan's Taliban regime which at one time had the full backing of Pakistan, BBC’s online news service reported.
Before the fall of the Taliban, Karzai traveled in and out of Pakistan a number of times - some members of his family were living there.
Now he is the head of the interim administration in Kabul which is dominated by the groups and individuals that are opposed to Pakistan.
Most of them have remained annoyed with Islamabad because of its past policy of backing the Taliban in its fight against the forces of the Northern Alliance.
But since Pakistan changed its policy and sided with the United States in the fight to dislodge the Taliban, fresh efforts are being made by the international supporters of Afghanistan's current leaders to bridge the gap.
Karzai, who has some previous links with Pakistan, is expected to play a key role in this regard, BBC reported.
Pakistani officials say his talks with General Musharraf and other senior leaders will focus on reconstruction and rehabilitation work in Afghanistan.
Pakistan has already pledged a substantial amount for reconstruction in Afghanistan and is keen to have some kind of a role in the development work there.
With
additional reporting by IOL correspondent, Aamir Latif
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