Afghan President Hamid Karzai discussed prospects of peace with the Taliban in a video phone conversation with US President Barack Obama, Karzai’s office said yesterday.
Obama speaks to Karzai less frequently than his predecessor, US president George W. Bush, and has not visited Afghanistan since being elected US president in 2008.
“During the video call, Karzai put Obama in the picture about Afghanistan’s efforts towards the acceleration of peace and national reconciliation, which America’s president welcomed,” the statement said.
Karzai has launched a high profile effort this year to reach out for reconciliation with the Taliban, who have made a comeback more than eight years since their ousting by US-backed Afghan militias.
Washington has so far supported efforts to attract lower and mid-level Taliban to lay down arms, but has been more guarded about efforts to reach out to their leaders, which it thinks is likely to be successful only after progress on the battlefield.
Obama ordered an extra 30,000 troops to Afghanistan in December in a bid to turn the tide in the war. When they arrive by the end of this year, the number of US troops in Afghanistan will have tripled during Obama’s time in office to 100,000, along with more than 40,000 from other NATO countries.
Obama has pledged to begin a gradual withdrawal in the middle of next year, setting up the next year as a decisive phase in the war.
The statement from Karzai’s office said both leaders had emphasized that Afghanistan and the international community should follow a “unified stance” on the question of talks.
Karzai also said that Afghans did not want their territory to be used for “proxy wars” between other countries, a statement that could refer either to tensions between Pakistan and India or between the US and Iran.
Other topics they discussed included regional cooperation, the strengthening of the Afghan security forces, anti-corruption measures in Afghanistan and the holding of a transparent parliamentary election, slated for September.
Meanwhile, a former Pakistani president criticized US plans to start pulling troops out of Afghanistan in just more than a year.
At a speaking tour stop in Portland, former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf on Monday praised Obama for committing 30,000 more troops to fighting the Taliban.
However, the former leader was sharply opposed to Obama’s plan to begin withdrawing forces in July next year, saying US soldiers should fight until the Taliban is defeated.
Musharraf took power in Pakistan in a 1999 coup and was forced to resign as president in 2008. He lives in London but said he would lead Pakistan again if the people voted him into office.
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