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KABUL (PAN): Afghan government and coalition officials met in Kabul on Tuesday to discuss the handover of security to Afghan forces, officials said.
The transition is supported by the international community and it will process in a step-by-step manner, said Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, who is President Hamid Karzai’s pointman on the handover.
“We have become closer with this joint goal,” he said.
The commander of NATO-led forces, Gen. David Petraeus, said the goal of 2014 as the date when Afghan forces should take the lead in security was set by Afghanistan and would be a significant step for the country.
“The handover of security will be a challenging process but we will reach our joint goal,” he said.
NATO’s senior civilian representative in Afghanistan, Mark Sedwill, said the handover was an important programme which had NATO’s support. It would lead to an improvement in security in Afghanistan, he believed.
Meanwhile, the UN’s special representative to Afghanistan, Staffan de Mistura, said the transition was discussed at the Lisbon conference in November last year and when it is achieved it would be a historic event.
The handover would lead to permanent peace, he said.
Afghans, NATO discuss security handover | Pajhwok Afghan News