Back reconciliation plans, Karzai to Pak

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai has made a special plea to Pakistan to support the country's reintegration plans.

"We ask all neighbours, particularly Pakistan, to support our peace and reconciliation endeavours," Karzai told a London conference on Thursday.

Afghanistan accuses Pakistan of sheltering Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants for nearly eight years.

Karzai urged Afghanistan and its Western supporters to "reach out to all of our countrymen, especially our disenchanted brothers who are not part of Al-Qaeda".

He compelled the United Nations to take further steps to remove Taliban officials from its sanctions list as he hopes to reintegrate some Taliban fighters into society.

The UN approved the removal of five former Taliban officials from the list on Monday including Wakil Ahmad Muttawakil, a former foreign minister and confidant of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar.

The Taliban have publicly dismissed negotiations until 'invading forces' namely foreign military have left the country and have called the conference 'a waste of time'.

In his address, Karzai laid out a six-point framework with peace, reconciliation and security at the top of the list.

"Peace and security in the world is inextricably linked to peace and security in Afghanistan," he said.

British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, said the conference marks "the beginning of the transition process" and warned Al Qaeda that they would be defeated.

He announced an international fund of $500 million to finance Afghanistan's reintegration plans.

US, Germany and Japan among other have shown their support.

Speaking to the BBC ahead of the conference, Karzai predicted that foreign troops could be in the region for up to 15 years. He said although police and soldiers could be trained in 5-10 years to sustain such efforts would take much longer.

The meeting is expected to agree to a rise in number of Afghan police and military forces. Brown said that by October 2011 the Afghan forces, expected to reach up to 300,000, would be 'a presence much bigger than our own coalition forces'.

During his speech Karzai urged for serious moves toward an 'Afghan led, Afghan run' nation.

He acknowledged the continuing need for both foreign aid and troops in the country and relayed his gratitude at the sacrifices made both by Afghans and the international community but cited 'Afghan leadership and Afghan ownership' as the aspirations of the people.

Karzai also addressed a long-standing call for King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia to "kindly play a role to guide peace and assist the process".

United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-Moon and US secretary of state Hillary Clinton were among the delegates.

A communiqué is expected this afternoon which will outline the commitments from the Afghan government to its people for the next 18 months as well as corresponding international commitments.

India's External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Thursday said India's role in the future of Afghanistan will become clearer after the outcome conference is determined.

Also Read: Foreign troops may be in Afghan for 15 years: Karzai