Afghan Ambassador in China talks about Taliban and US troops

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-08-20 15:42

H: Also about Taliban. Taliban, as we know, is bringing the lives in Afghanistan a lot of pains. Can you think of a time when you go near the attacks of Taliban in Afghanistan?

A: Taliban, first of all, they are not one group, an organized group. There are Al-Qaida; there are terrorists from many countries - international terrorists - from Islamic and non-Islamic countries, like from Arabian countries, from Chechnya, from (India's) Punjab, from Afghanistan. The second element of this is drug dealers, the mafia and the killers, thieves. All these people call themselves Taliban. There is no organization and a standard to define the organization as a Taliban. So I want to say that in Afghanistan, the part which is not stable, this is not under the control of the government of Afghanistan, but it's not under the control of any special organization as well.

H: So regarding Taliban, what's your comment on the Afghan government's actions and policies towards Taliban?

A: We want to differentiate between those who link with Al-Qaida, who are terrorists, who attack not only Afghanistan, but also our neighbors, including China, recently in Urumqi. They are the same group. So we fight to the end to root out Al-Qaida terrorists. But in the same time, we want to have those elements who want to accept our constitution to come back to civil life. One thing is very, very important: terrorism and Al-Qaida are a threat to the region. If yesterday, Afghanistan was the main victim or the only victim, now unfortunately our Pakistan is the victim. And also, you know, in India, even in your country. They attack everybody, every country. So I want to say that international community, along with the regional countries, should together focus (on) and address this main threat to the stability of the region. And we should root it out by destroying their centers, their financial center, their recruitment center and their advocate center. Otherwise, it is very difficult to solve this problem in the region.

H: Tell me what do you think of Obama's policy towards Taliban in Afghanistan?

A: We welcome the strategy by the US administration: increasing their forces in Afghanistan, increasing the number of our forces, more civil support. But at the same time, this is our policy which is supported by the US administration and Obama that we should differentiate those who want to accept the constitution and those who don't accept the constitution.

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