Chairman of ICG said end of duty of ISAF in 2014 would not mean responsibility on Afghanistan come to an end.
The Chairman of the International Contact Group (ICG) for Afghanistan and Germany’s Special Envoy forAfghanistan and Pakistan, Michael Koch on Thursday said that “as of 2014, the nature of our responsibilities in Afghanistan would change and we will have less military but more civilian and capacity developing role in Afghanistan”.
Speaking at a press conference at the German Embassy in Ankara on Thursday, Koch said that the end of the duty of the International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan in 2014 would not mean that their responsibility on Afghanistan would also come to an end.
“As of 2014, the nature of our responsibilities in Afghanistan would change. We will have more civilian responsibility and capacity developing role in Afghanistan as of 2014. While we may have less military responsibility, we will continue to be present in Afghanistan,” Koch underlined.
Defining the present state of Afghanistan as one with “shadow and light”, Koch stressed that there have been developments in Afghanistan recently with which the Afghan people could be proud of.
“There are still many things to be done in Afghanistan. Corruption continues to be a major problem inAfghanistan,” Koch noted.
“There will not be a security vacuum once the ISAF leaves Afghanistan. We have to believe that the Afghan army and police forces would fill the gap,” Koch said.
In response to a question on talks with the Taliban for a possible consensus, Koch underlined that the issue of a consensus was one of the most important ones in Afghanistan.
“This has to be an Afghan process. Everyone can help but at the end the Afghans must reach a consensus with themselves,” Koch stated.
The ICG for Afghanistan will hold a meeting in the Turkish capital of Ankara on Friday.
(Anatolia News Agency)
