"NATO HAS NOT REACHED ITS GOAL"

Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai was one of the guests at the Third Global Shared Societies Forum held in Baku. He headed the interim administration from December 2001, after the overthrow of the Taliban as a result of the NATO operation. In June 2002, the Council of Elders declared Karzai the head of state, and in late 2004 he became the first Afghan president elected in free elections. In 2009, Hamid Karzai was re-elected for a second term.

- How do you assess the internal political situation in Afghanistan?

- As you know, there is a new government, a newly elected president and new ministers in Afghanistan. We hope that governors, too, will be appointed in the near future. This is the road that is getting better day by day. The Afghan people have chosen democracy.

I should say that freedoms do exist in Afghanistan, including media freedom. Thus, we are marching forward to better days.

- How do you assess the results of NATO's long-term Operation Enduring Freedom?

- NATO and its allies launched the operation after the events of 11 September 2001. This operation had two objectives. The first objective was to help Afghanistan and the Afghan people in various fields. This assistance has been very useful to the people and the Government of Afghanistan in terms of public health and transport. The Afghan people have been greatly assisted in various other ways, too. We are grateful to the international community for their support and assistance.

The second objective of the operation in Afghanistan comprised security issues, including the fight against radical religious groups and terrorists. On this point, I can say that NATO and its allies have failed to achieve their goal. The Afghan people are still suffering from the terror, and security has not yet been ensured. Most importantly, terrorism has spread even wider, not only in Afghanistan but also throughout the region.

- Are there areas in Afghanistan that are controlled by the Taliban movement? What are the chances that the Taliban regains its position after the withdrawal of coalition forces?

- The Taliban exercised control over a number of areas even during the NATO presence. So it will be after the withdrawal of the North Atlantic Alliance. Some of the Talibs are representatives of our people; they are one of us, i.e. sons of our land. We urge them to follow a path of peace and reconciliation. We hope to persuade our sons to take our side so that we work together towards establishing peace in the country and serving its prosperity and development.

- How can you comment on the recent news about the declaration of war between the Taliban movement and the Islamic State?

- As I said, most of the Talibs who joined the jihad in Afghanistan are representatives of our people. They can become an integral part of Afghan society. Meanwhile, the ISIS is a group that has been formed as a result of events in Iraq and Syria; therefore it has nothing to do with Afghanistan.

- Is there a threat of war spreading to the Central Asian countries that border on Afghanistan?

- As you know, security issues have been at the top of the agenda in Afghanistan for 30 years. Once it was due to the occupation and then due to a number of (external) interventions in Afghanistan's affairs, in particular, on the part of Pakistan.

The Afghan people think as follows: if we would be working towards peace and ensuring security in the region, and all of the powerful countries of the region would contribute to this cause, it will benefit all the peoples living there.

Extremism is a problem that did not originate in Afghanistan. We want to solve this problem through joint efforts of all countries in the region.

- Experts note that the production and export of drugs has increased by a factor of hundreds after the invasion of coalition forces in Afghanistan. The situation in the country was used by the forces engaged in drug trafficking.

- It is true; the production of drugs has increased since 2001. It should be concluded that the international mafia network uses the current situation in Afghanistan. The growth in the volume of drug production in Afghanistan is related to this. All profits from drug trafficking flows into the pockets of the mafia and other groups, while a bad reputation goes to the Afghan people.

- Azerbaijan is an active participant in the peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan and humanitarian programmes. How do you assess the role of the Azerbaijani troops in maintaining the peace?

- First of all, I wish to express gratitude to Azerbaijan for everything it has done for Afghanistan and in particular for its contribution to peacekeeping activities in the country.

Secondly, we would like Azerbaijan to open its embassy in Kabul. As you know, the Embassy of Afghanistan has been operating in Azerbaijan for three years already. Maintenance of direct ties contributes to the fruitful development of bilateral relations. We want this and we will work in this direction.