KABUL (Pajhwok): Ex-president Hamid Karzai has slammed America’s failure to bring stability and combat extremism in Afghanistan.
As US and NATO troops were exiting Afghanistan, they were leaving behind a disaster, the former president said in an interview on Sunday.
He said: “The international community came here 20 years ago with this clear objective of fighting extremism and bringing stability, but extremism is at the highest point today. So, they have failed.”
Karzai told the Associated Press: “We recognise as Afghans all our failures, but what about the bigger forces and powers who came here for exactly that purpose? Where are they leaving us now?”
He hastened to answer the query: Afghanistan, which has been in the throes of war for 20 years, was being left in total disgrace and disaster.
“We will be better off without their military presence,” he remarked. “I think we should defend our own country and look after our own lives.
“We don’t want to continue with this misery and indignity that we are facing. It is better for Afghanistan that they (foreign forces) leave," he maintained.
The US-NATO military campaign was not against extremism or terrorism, he alleged, saying the mission was more focused on bombing Afghan villages and clapping the Afghans in prison.
The former president made a pitch for peace, asking the warring sides to think about the lives of the people and their property. He called fighting destruction.
Karzai insisted: “The only answer is Afghans getting together. We must recognise that this is our country and we must stop killing each other.”
PAN Monitor/mud
