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February 27, 2002
2206 IST

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Afghanistan committed to eliminating radicalism: Karzai

Visiting head of the Afghan interim government Hamid Karzai on Wednesday said his country was committed to completely eliminating the forces of terrorism and radicalism with the help of the international community.

Karzai is leading a 36-member strong delegation, including Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, on a two-day visit to India.

Speaking at a joint press conference in Delhi, both Karzai and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee asserted that the forces of terrorism and religious extremism must be totally eliminated for peace and stability in the region.

After wide-ranging talks with the prime minister, Karzai thanked Vajpayee for his announcement in Tokyo of $100 million assistance for reconstruction of Afghanistan as also the $10 million package promised by the Indian leader on Wednesday.

The Afghan leader, on a two-day visit to India, sought international assistance, including that from India, to build a strong, united and independent Afghanistan free from terrorist and radical forces.

The prime minister had said that, among other things, New Delhi would assist Kabul in the fields of education, health, agriculture and information technology.

"So far as sending Indian troops to Afghanistan is concerned, there is no such proposal. If it is needed, we will consider it favourably," Vajpayee said.

Karzai told mediapersons that issues relating to security and intelligence sharing between the two countries did not figure in their parleys.

He said his government was unaware about the whereabouts of terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden, Karzai said.

To a question as to how long he wanted the international security forces to remain in Afghanistan, he said they will stay as long as the country needs them.

"We are in the process of setting up our own national army and police," he said adding that as soon as the system stabilises and the fight against terrorism is finished, Kabul would ask them to leave.

He said there were demands from leaders of several provinces in Afghanistan for stationing of international security forces to ensure that Afghanistan did not go back to the horrible days of terrorism.

Karzai confirmed that exiled Afghan leader Zahir Shah was planning to return to Kabul at the time of the Afghan new year on March 21 as an 'Afghan citizen and an elderly statesman'.

He recalled his memories of his days as a student in Shimla, where he studied for six years, but said he would not be visiting the place this time.

Interestingly, Karzai acceded to a reporter's request to reply to a question in Hindi. "If you want a clear answer, I will say it in English," he said but agreed to speak in Hindi much to the delight of the audience.

Earlier in the day, Karzai, who arrived in Delhi on Tuesday, was given a ceremonial welcome on the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan where he was received, among others, by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Home Minister L K Advani, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh.

Later, he had a 35-minute meeting with Narayanan during which they discussed Indo-Afghan relations and other areas in which bilateral ties could be further strengthened.

EARLIER REPORT:
India can help bring peace, stability in Afghanistan: Karzai

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