India and the US joined the global community on Tuesday in backing Afghan government's efforts to involve Taliban elements in the peace process but made it clear that amnesty should only be offered to those who had no links with the Al Qaeda and other terror groups.
"The Afghan government's Peace and Reintegration Programme is open to all Afghan members of the armed opposition and their communities, who renounce violence, have no link to international terrorist organisations, respect the Constitution and are willing to join in building a peaceful Afghanistan," said a draft communique at the international conference on Afghanistan in Kabul.
Renewing his call to Taliban to lay down arms and join the peace process, Afghan President Hamid Karzai outlined his commitment to take charge of the nation's security by 2014.
Speaking at the key conference on Afghanistan's future held here amidst a total lockdown of the capital city, Karzai said his government remained determined to take up the responsibility for all military and law enforcement operations by 2014.
As fears grow over the course of the nine-year-old war against terrorism in the wake of the Obama Administration's plan to begin withdrawing US forces from this country by 2011, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton promised that Americans and allies will continue to stand by Afghanistan.
Clinton said that the planned withdrawal of the troops was not a sign of flagging commitment.
"The July 2011 transition process is too important to push off indefinitely. But this date is a start of a new phase, not the end of our involvement," she told the conference attended by a galaxy of leaders, including UN chief Ban Ki-moon, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
In a veiled reference to Pakistan, Krishna said it is essential to ensure that "support, sustenance and sanctuaries for terrorist organisations from outside Afghanistan are ended forthwith."
India has accused Pakistan of supporting terror elements in Afghanistan which have been targeting New Delhi's interests.
"Terrorism cannot be compartmentalised. Today, one cannot distinguish between al-Qaeda and plethora of terrorist organisations, which have imbibed the goals and techniques of the Al Qaeda," Krishna said.
He said that any new process to stabilise the war-torn nation must be fully "Afghan-led and Afghan-owned and carry all sections of the nation's population" in an apparent
"The international community must learn lessons from past experiences at negotiating with fundamentalist and extremist organisations and ensure that any peace process is conducted in an inclusive and transparent manner," Krishna said in a statement.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Qureshi said the transition process in Afghanistan should be gradual based on ground realities and not on calender and deadlines.
"Afghanistan's immediate neighbours have a special responsibility towards this country," he said.
The daylong conference comes at a crucial juncture as US and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation forces are poised to launch major offensives in Kandahar and eastern Afghanistan against Taliban.
Vowing to fight corruption plaguing his administration, Karzai, now in his second term as president of the war-torn country, said, "Our fight against corruption will continue and those who violate the law will be punished."
He also stressed that the anti-graft body would be strengthened to check corruption in the government departments.
Karzai sought to convince the international community that his government could assume full security responsibility of the country by 2014.
"I remain determined that our Afghan national security forces will be responsible for all military and law enforcement operations throughout our country by 2014," he told representatives from 70 organisations and states.
Karzai called on the Taliban and other armed opposition groups to give up militancy and join the ambitious peace process initiated by his government, amid a nationwide security lockdown against possible terror attack in Kabul to disrupt the conference.
"We hope those who have taken arms against our country will see the wisdom of pursuing their legitimate aspirations through peaceful means," he said. "I hope the international community will back our efforts for peace in Afghanistan."
He said that steady transition of the country's full responsibility to Afghan leadership and ownership is the key to sustainability.
"We are pleased that the international community in general and the United States, in particular, have committed to channel 50 percent of their assistance through the Afghan budget in the next two years."
"Our systems are strong and improving, and we are committed to working with donors to give them the confidence needed to channel resources through the Afghan budget."
Karzai also described poppy cultivation and drug production as a factor for instability, urging the international community to provide alternative crops for Afghan farmers.
In her address, Clinton said the US is encouraged by work the Karzai government has done to improve governance and combat corruption, but added that much work remains.
She also stressed that the rights of women in Afghanistan must not be sacrificed in pursuit of reconciliation with the Taliban.
The Afghan government has developed an ambitious plan aimed at reintegrating Taliban fighters who agree to lay down their weapons, renounce the Al Qaeda and accept Afghanistan's Constitution.
Clinton said the plan has created a useful framework, but added that progress will depend on whether insurgents wish to comply with the conditions.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who co-hosted the conference with Karzai, appealed for unity among the Afghan people.
He called on the Afghan government to protect human rights and hold those responsible for rights violations accountable.
Earlier in the day, rockets were fired at the Kabul airport forcing the diversion of a plane carrying the UN Secretary General to Bagram airbase from where he flew in a Blackhawk helicopter.
Image: Afghan President Karzai (centre), UN Secretary General Ban (immediate left) and US Secretary of State Clinton (right) at the Afghan Conference on Tuesday | Photograph: Ahmad Masood/Reuters
