Taliban reiterate call for NATO withdrawal

KABUL.

Hours ahead of a key NATO summit in Chicago on Afghanistan’s future, the insurgent movement urged the Western military alliance to pull out of the country, ignoring US interests.

President Hamid Karzai on Friday left for the United States to attend the 25^th NATO Summit, where he will brief world leaders on Afghanistan’s progress and future needs.

Representatives from 60 countries and international agencies, including the European Union, the World Bank and the UN, will discuss funding for Afghan forces after 2014, when most foreign troops are to withdraw.

In a statement, the Taliban said their doors remained open for peace talks, but US had failed to keep its promises. The Americans were taking one step forward and two steps back, it added.

The US claim about a political settlement in Afghanistan would be meaningless until it changed its policy of reluctance, the rebel movement explained.

The militants demanded of summit to tell US and NATO forces to stop supporting border and local police personnel, who were creating problems for innocent people.

mas/mud