Afghan forces ready to take over security nationwide

KABUL transition board that met in Kabul on Sunday agreed that Afghan forces were ready and capable to take over security responsibility for the whole of the country.

The meeting also decided to brief President Hamid Karzai over the fifth and final phase of the security transition that would be completed this year.

Speaking at the meeting, Security Transition Commission chief Dr. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai assured that Afghan security forces were equipped and able to maintain security for the entire country.

He said Afghan security forces had been able to fill the vacuum created with the withdrawal of thousands of foreign troops.

He added the Afghan forces had carried out the tasks which were not possible in the past, demonstrating their increased combat ability to deal with any kind of eventuality.

The joint board session was attended by Defence Minister Maj. Gen. Bismillah Mohammadi, Deputy Interior Minister Abdul Rahman Rahman, ISAF commander Gen. Josef Danford, NATO’s civilian representative and some ambassadors.

Ahmadzai said they would present some recommendations to the president regarding the final phase of the security transition.

The final phase will mark the handover of the last 95 districts from NATO to Afghan forces including many of the most volatile areas of south and east Afghanistan.

The exact date and location of the handover has not yet been announced, but it will complete a programme started in 2011 when relatively-peacefully areas inhabited by about 20 percent of the population were put under Afghan security.

The last “tranche” of districts includes 13 in Kandahar province, the birthplace of the Taliban.

After the handover, 100,000 NATO forces will only play a supporting and training role as Afghan soldiers and police take the lead in the fight against the militants.

mrh/ma

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