Afghanistan enters fourth stage in transition of power from US forces

Troubled Helmand province among the 12 provinces which have been included in tranche four of transition.

KABUL: As part of the long drawn withdrawal of US troops from war-torn Afghanistan and a return to self sufficiency, the country entered into the fourth stage of transition of power and security to Afghan forces on Monday.

According to a release by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), Afghanistan announced the fourth stage of security transition in line with the transition process established at the Lisbon Summit.

"President Karzai's announcement of the fourth group of provinces to enter transition is another historic step for Afghanistan as it gets closer to taking full responsibility for security of the entire country," said ISAF commander General John Allen. "With the addition of these 12 full provinces to the transition process, Afghan National Security Forces are now taking the security lead in areas where 87 per cent of the Afghan people live."

The announcement of Tranche Four sets the stage for the implementation of the fifth tranche.  During the summer of 2013, it is expected that all parts of Afghanistan will have begun transition and the Afghan forces will be in the lead for security across Afghanistan.

With the fourth stage underway, 23 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces are now entirely in the transition process. The 12 provinces added in Tranche Four are mostly located in the north and interior of the country, except for Helmand.

NATO's Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan, Ambassador Maurits R. Jochems, recognised that the progress made in professionalism and confidence by the Afghan National Security Forces has allowed the transition strategy to succeed.

Speaking about NATO and ISAF's commitment to Afghanistan, Ambassador Jochems said, "ISAF will continue to support the Afghan National Security Forces until the end of 2014 and after that NATO and its partners remain committed to Afghanistan's future stability through a new mission to train, advise and assist the Afghan National Security Forces."