Members of the Afghan National Police attend a graduation ceremony at a police training centre in Herat on Thursday. PHOTO: AFP
UNITED NATIONS:
The UN Security Council on Thursday voted a final mandate for the US-led international military force in Afghanistan before it withdraws at the end of 2014.
A resolution unanimously backed by the 15-nation council authorised the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to ‘take all necessary measures’ to carry out its duties until December 31, 2014.
The United States and other western nations, who have been in Afghanistan since just after the September 11, 2001 attacks, say they will hand over all security duties to Afghan forces by the end of next year.
While western countries remain nervous about Afghanistan’s future, they have already started to withdraw troops while still battling the Taliban.
There are still about 87,000 troops in ISAF. About 60,000 are US forces but 49 countries remain contributors.
ISAF has had rocky relations with President Hamid Karzai’s government, but troop numbers are steadily falling.
A security deal to allow some US troops to stay in Afghanistan to fight al Qaeda appeared at risk of collapse after Karzai threatened to walk away from negotiations.
According to the Afghan government, talks ground to a halt over US demands for the right to conduct unilateral military operations after 2014.
The United States has pushed for a bilateral security pact to be signed by the end of this month so the ISAF withdrawal can remain on schedule. Britain on Thursday started its last major deployment to Afghanistan, with some 6,000 troops to be sent to Helmand.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 11th, 2013.
COMMENTS (3)
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@Zalmai: Dear Zalmai
I do not quite get your point. However, the US war in Afghanistan has me very puzzled. If you can work it out please advise me..
@ Sexton Blake
How is Afghanistan a debacle? Is it because Pakistan is turned into a bit player with no influence these days or because Pakistan is getting a taste of its own medicine.
I sincerely hope that ET will allow me to write further, at a later stage, about the hippocracy and total nonsense being practiced by the UN and NATO in regard to the Afghanistan debacle, which they have created all on their very own.