BackTerrorism still remains a challenge to be overcome: Hamid Karzai
Continued support coming from outside to extremism and terrorism is a major hindrance to progress, harmony and social stability
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New Delhi: Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Friday expressed hope that the gains made by the war-torn country in the past 13 years under his presidency—democracy in the form of an elected government, an elected parliament and a free judiciary besides a generation of educated young Afghans—would take the country forward, but warned that terrorism still remained a challenge to be overcome.
Addressing the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi, Karzai said, “Continued support coming from outside to extremism and terrorism is a major hindrance to progress, harmony and social stability" in Afghanistan. He also urged all countries in the region like India, China and Russia to act together to define the sources of terrorism in the region and address the source from which it draws sustenance.
The India-educated Karzai, 56, left office in September, handing over power to his former finance minister Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai following presidential elections there.
Listing out the achievements of his presidency, Karzai said Afghanistan has an elected government, an elected parliament, security forces who are “almost entirely on our own feet" and a generation of forward-looking educated young Afghans.
The challenges confronting Afghanistan included weak governance, drug and narcotics production and trafficking, the former president said. “Most of all, terrorism, which derives its sustenance and support from outside our borders, remains the biggest challenge for the stability and prosperity of Afghanistan as well as the region," he said, adding that it is a “scourge that seeks to wipe out (the) progress" made in the past 13 years—referring to the period starting from November 2001 when US-led international troops drove out the hardline Sunni Pashtun Taliban administration from Kabul. “The continued support coming from outside to extremism and terrorism is a major hindrance to progress, harmony and social stability," he said.
On the peace and reconciliation process started by him, Karzai said that the new Ahmadzai administration will continue the process with the Taliban, which will allow them to come back to their country—a possible allusion to the Taliban leaders and others being reportedly sheltered in Pakistan.
In an indirect reference to Pakistan—accused of backing the Taliban and fomenting unrest in Afghanistan—Karzai said that “security and prosperity depends primarily on the region becoming free from terrorism". Karzai urged “regional partners" like India, China and Russia to work together “to define the forces that drive radicalization and terrorism" in the region and “address the source from which such forces draw their sustenance".
In answer to a question, Karzai flagged concerns that Afghanistan continued to be a theatre for the Great Game played by the powers. The term is a reference to rivalries between Britain and Russia in the 19th century for influence and power in the Indian subcontinent. Warning India, Afghanistan and Pakistan to cooperate and not fall prey to the interests of outside powers, Karzai said that Afghanistan would not allow a proxy war to be waged between India and Pakistan on its soil.
“The Great Game is still on...we in this region need to be tactful," Karzai said, adding that Pakistan, Afghanistan and India should not compete with each other but be friends to beat those trying to influence the region for their interests.
On the question of increasing Chinese influence in Afghanistan, Karzai said that China was a considerate neighbour of Afghanistan and given its own problems of unrest in the Muslim Uighur majority province of Xinjiang, there was an alignment of views on terrorism. Karzai said he had himself approached China when he was president a few years ago to help with the Afghan reconciliation process given China’s close ties with Pakistan who, in turn, wielded influence over the Taliban.
Karzai also clarified that he had called Afghan Taliban “brothers" as they were misguided and “victims" of radicalization.
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