News
Wednesday, July 06, 2011
Taliban could have political future: UK
* British prime minister warns those who do not lay down arms risked being killed
* Says his country backs improvement in Afghanistan-Pakistan relations
KABUL: British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Tuesday Afghanistan’s Taliban could have a future as part of a government, as former militants did in Northern Ireland, but warned that those who did not lay down arms risked being killed.
Speaking alongside Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul, Cameron said Britain would also step up aid to Afghanistan as troops were gradually withdrawn and unveiled plans for a new British Sandhurst-style academy to train Afghan army officers. “I’ve seen it in my own country, in Northern Ireland, where people who were involved in trying to kill, maim, and bomb civilians, police officers, army personnel, and even politicians, have actually become politicians themselves,” Cameron said.
“You are losing this fight,” he said, referring to the militants who have been battling foreign forces and Karzai’s government since they were ousted in late 2001. “You are seeing your fellow Taliban members being killed in ever larger numbers, this will only continue. So you should give that up and join a political process,” Cameron said. Last month, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Britain was in contact with Taliban insurgents to find a political solution to the war. He did not give any details about the contacts. Britain, which has about 9,500 troops in Afghanistan, has long argued that only a political settlement can end almost a decade of fighting.
In a sign of the fragile nature of the security gains, four foreign soldiers were killed in Afghanistan on Tuesday during Cameron’s visit. More than 2,500 foreign troops have died since 2001, at least 374 of them British. Last month, US President Barack Obama, under pressure to start to start ending an unpopular war, announced the withdrawal of 10,000 US troops this year and 23,000 by September 2012. There are about 100,000 US troops in Afghanistan.
Cameron said 426 British troops would be withdrawn this year. He said Britain would increase its aid to Afghanistan and warned of the dangers of neglecting the country after all foreign troops had left. “This is a great example of a country that if we walk away from and if we ignore and if we forget about, the problems will come visited back on our doorstep,” he said.
“How do we know this? Because we’ve done it before, we walked away from Afghanistan in the past.” Cameron also said he had discussed a plan with Karzai to build an Afghan military officer academy modelled on Britain’s prestigious Sandhurst academy. “This will involve around 120 British troops, it will also involve other nations, and the Americans themselves will be putting $38 million into this initiative,” he said.
Cameron struck a diplomatic note over the row between Afghanistan and Pakistan over claims of cross-border attacks, and said that Britain backed an improvement in Afghanistan-Pakistan relations. “Now is the time for Pakistan and Afghanistan to sit and meet and talk on how we are to ensure what we need to do,” he told reporters. agencies
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk