LONDON (Agencies) – World powers welcomed Afghanistan’s plan Thursday to take responsibility for its security within five years and persuade moderate Taliban fighters to renounce violence with a promise of a new start through jobs, according to a final communique issued after a major conference in London.
“Conference participants welcomed the government of Afghanistan’s stated goal of the ANSF (Afghan National Security Forces) taking the lead and conducting the majority of operations in the insecure areas of Afghanistan within three years, and taking responsibility for physical security within five years,” it said.
The statement described the persuasion as an offer to give “an honourable place in society to those willing to renounce violence, participate in the free and open society and respect the principles that are enshrined in the Afghan constitution, cut ties with Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups, and pursue their political goals peacefully”.
Participants of London conference also committed to establish a peace and reintegration trust fund to finance the Afghan reintegration project. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said 140 million dollars was pledged for the first year on Thursday.
On the transfer of responsibility for security from international to Afghan forces (the ANSF), the communique said both sides were committed to making this happen “as rapidly as possible”.
“This is with a view to a number of provinces transitioning to ANSF lead, providing conditions are met, by late 2010/early 2011, with ISAF moving to a supporting role within those provinces,” it said.
The communique welcomed the Afghan government’s stated goal of conducting the majority of operations in the insecure areas of Afghanistan within three years “and taking responsibility for physical security within five years”.
International forces committed to support the Afghan security forces with the goal of boosting them to about 300,000 by October 2011.
International aid delivered through the Afghan government will be increased to 50 percent in two years, but only if Kabul acts to fight corruption and improve governance, world powers agreed Thursday.
The final communique from an international conference in London “supported” the Afghan government’s request that donors increase the proportion of aid they deliver through the government budget from about one-third currently to half.
“But this support is conditional on the government’s progress in further strengthening public financial management systems, reducing corruption, improving budget execution, developing a financial strategy and government capacity towards the goal,” it said.
Outside experts will be invited for an independent “monitoring and evaluation mission” within three months to audit the scale of corruption in Afghanistan, the statement said.
Earlier, Afghan President Hamid Karzai urged Western partners to help him woo moderate Taliban insurgents at the conference Thursday in London.
He presented a six-point framework aimed at ensuring peace and development of his war-torn country.
Addressing the 70-nation conference, Karzai said Afghanistan and its Western supporters must “reach out to all of our countrymen, especially our disenchanted brothers who are not part of Al-Qaeda”.
The moot was co-hosted by the UK, United Nations and the Afghan government. Pakistan is represented at the conference by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
He said when more powers are transferred to Afghan forces, the international community can focus more on rebuilding the countryÂ’s economy and institutions.
However, the Afghan President was critical of mounting civilian casualties through night time raids by the international forces and demanded that they be not only curtailed but conducted by the Afghan forces.
Speaking about the national sovereignty, Karzai said the Afghan government wants to take charge of all the detention centres now currently under the control of international forces.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the conference marked “the beginning of the transition process” under which responsibility for security will gradually be transferred from international to Afghan control.
Brown added that a district-by-district, province-by-province handover would start later this year and warned Al-Qaeda militants in Afghanistan.
“To those insurgents who refuse to accept the conditions for reintegration we have no choice but to pursue them militarily,” Brown said and added: “We will defeat you.”
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday it was necessary to engage with enemies in order to bring peace to Afghanistan.
She had been asked about Afghan government plans to invite the Taliban to a council of elders to discuss reconciliation.
“You have to be willing to engage with your enemies” if you expect to end an insurgency, she told a news conference. She did not directly address the question about the council which will be for Afghans only and which the United States will not attend.
Hillary stressed that Afghans and extremists needed to understand that the handover of security responsibilities was “not an exit strategy”.
Brown announced the international fund, believed to be worth 500 million dollars, to back a reintegration plan to give jobs to Taliban fighters who are prepared to renounce Al-Qaeda.
The United States, Germany and Japan are among nations that have voiced support for the Afghan-led plan.
Karzai said he would establish a national council for peace, reconciliation and reintegration and call a “peace jirga,” or traditional gathering of Afghans. He reiterated a call for Saudi King Abdullah to play a role.
“We hope His Majesty (Saudi) King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz will kindly play a prominent role to guide and assist the peace process,” he said.
He also said that Afghanistan needed the support of its neighbours, particularly Pakistan, to secure peace.
“We ask all neighbours, particularly Pakistan, to support our peace and reconciliation endeavours,” he added. “We are looking forward to the international community supporting this.
Karzai’s spokesman Elmi said a date had not yet been set for the meeting. If the Taliban want to attend, “they are most welcome,” he said.
If they did not, the peace “jirga”-the name for a traditional Afghan assembly of elders-would still go ahead and focus on how to bring insurgents into talks and end the conflict, Elmi said.
“The elders of Afghan society will talk about how to bring in the Taliban, what is the way forward,” Elmi said.
“We are inviting all people who are accepting the Afghan constitution, those who want to cut their relations with terrorism, those who are not international terrorists,” he said.
Karzai told the conference he would establish a national council for peace, reconciliation and reintegration, and then call the jirga.
KarzaiÂ’s plan is to offer militants jobs and a guarantee that they would not be arrested by Afghan or international security forces in exchange for their agreement to stop fighting.
What the Afghan people want is “Afghan leadership, Afghan ownership,” said Karzai. “Peace and security in the world is inextricably linked to peace and security in Afghanistan,” he said.
It reiterated a demand for “invading forces” – its term for foreign troops – to withdraw as a condition for any talks.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon who also spoke on the occasion pledged the world bodyÂ’s complete support in ensuring peace and development of Afghanistan.
Iran was the most notable absentee from the conference, with Britain accusing Tehran of missing an opportunity to play a constructive role.
Around 100 protestors targeted the opening of ThursdayÂ’s conference at Lancaster House in central London also attended by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and US Special Envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke.
About 110,000 international troops now are in Afghanistan, and their numbers are set to rise, and Karzai told BBC radio earlier Thursday that his country would need international help for years to come.
“With regard to training and equipping the Afghan security forces, five to 10 years will be enough,” Karzai said.
“With regard to sustaining them until Afghanistan is financially able to provide for our forces, the time will be extended to 10 to 15 years.”
Afghan Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak told the meeting that Afghanistan was committed to taking the lead but its lack of security manpower was still a “critical obstacle”.
It would be a “strategic mistake” for international forces to leave the country too early, he said..
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen urged leaders at the conference to match the “sacrifice” of foreign soldiers in the war-torn country with clear plans for its future.
Our monitoring desk adds: The Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told the BBC that the Afghan government would benefit from involving moderate elements of the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Qureshi said the militant group represented some of AfghanistanÂ’s large Pashtun community and had to be taken into consideration.
A “wedge” could be driven between moderates and hardliners, he said.
Qureshi argued that most Pakistanis had turned against the extremism of the countryÂ’s home-grown Taliban.
Speaking in London Qureshi said the Pashtuns were AfghanistanÂ’s largest ethnic community and could not be ignored.
“Get them into the mainstream, give them a respectable share in power, it will add to stability,” he told the BBC World Service.
He rejected the suggestion that giving the Taliban a role in Kabul might encourage the Pakistani TalibanÂ’s militant campaign.
“I think it will create a wedge between the hard core and the moderates,” he said.
“We in Pakistan have carried out our own national effort. Today in Pakistan people are convinced that this element which wants to Talibanise Pakistan is not in line with the overwhelming majority of people in Pakistan.”
While talking to The Guardian Qureshi said Pakistan is ready to mediate in reconciliation talks between the Western Alliance and Taliban, if the country is “asked to do so”.
Qureshi said Pakistan is uniquely placed to help in talks, which he said may aid in facilitating reintegration of the strife-torn nation. “Pakistan is perhaps better placed than any other country in the world to support Afghan reintegration and reconciliation. Why? We speak the same language, we have common tribes, a common religion, we have a commonality of history, culture and tradition,” Qureshi said.
“But it (Pakistani mediation) depends on whether we are asked to do so. If asked, the government of Pakistan would be happy to facilitate,” he was quoted as saying by British newspaper ‘The Guardian’.
Meanwhile, Saudi ArabiaÂ’s foreign minister said on Thursday The Taliban must deny sanctuary to Osama bin Laden before Saudi Arabia will agree to act as a mediator in any Afghan peace deal,.
Prince Saud al-Faisal was responding to Afghan President Hamid Karzai who had called on Saudi Arabia, which has hosted talks between Afghan government and Taliban representatives in the past, to help bring peace to Afghanistan.
“Unless the Taliban give up the issue of sanctuary (to bin Laden) I don’t think the negotiations with them will be possible or feasible to achieve anything,” Prince Saud told reporters on the sidelines of a London conference.
“We have two conditions for Saudi Arabia’s involvement: that the request comes officially from Afghanistan and the Taliban has to prove its intentions in coming to the negotiations by cutting their relations with the terrorists and proving it,” he said.
“By keeping their contacts with bin Laden they won’t be coming to any negotiations with a positive attitude.