Share this story!            

Taliban acceptable if they renounce Qaeda: Holbrooke

* US diplomat says destroying Qaeda real goal in Afghanistan
* Core strategy is to help Afghans take responsibility of their own security

LAHORE/WASHINGTON: Taliban can rejoin the “social and political fabric of Afghanistan” if they renounce Al Qaeda, US special envoy Richard Holbrooke said on Tuesday.

In an interview with SPIEGEL, Holbrooke said, “Majority of Taliban do not support Mullah Omar’s extreme views and that there is room for them to rejoin the social and political fabric of Afghanistan if they renounce Al Qaeda and reintegrate peacefully into Afghanistan. And that is a major part” of the Unites States policies.

He said Washington was not seeking to destroy “every person who supports the Taliban”, adding that “Our goal is to destroy Al Qaeda, a terrorist organisation with global reach which attacked the United States, which conducted attacks in London, Madrid and Bali, and Mumbai and Islamabad, which supports attacks in Afghanistan through other groups.”

The US special envoy said Washington was not in Afghanistan to build a perfect democracy there but to help the Afghans strengthen their own capabilities. “We’re not there to take over the country, we’re there to help the Afghans build their own capacity so that their security forces can replace the international forces over an acceptable period of time,” he said.

Asked if Afghan President Hamid Karzai was still Washington’s partner in the war, Holbrooke said the US respected Karzai and looked forward to working with him closely.

“Yes, he is our partner,” he told SPEIGEL.

Meanwhile, APP reported that Holbrook reiterated US support for Pakistan’s long-term economic development, saying the US was working to help Islamabad address problems in key water and energy areas.

He also told a briefing that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to Pakistan last month helped lay “foundations for a partnership, a deeper, more productive, genuine partnership among two sovereign nations”.

“We are completing a new civilian assistance programme which will broaden the scope of our relations with Pakistan and help Pakistan address its long-term development needs,” Holbrook said.

“We are working out the operationalising of the general agreements as we speak, and we’re talking about how to improve our economic assistance,” he said. daily times monitor/app

Home | National

Share this story!