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Karzai to announce second round of NATO transition

27 October 2011 04:29 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Afghan President Hamid Karzai will next month announce up to 17 new areas transferring from NATO to local control, moving ahead with plans for Afghanistan to take responsibility for security by 2014, APA reports quoting AFP.

The second phase of handover is part of plans for the US-led Western coalition to gradually draw down troops and end the war after more than a decade, as officials search for negotiation opportunities with the Taliban.

A list of seven entire provinces and 10 other provinces where some districts will be phased over to local control, will be announced by Karzai at a regional conference in Istanbul, said the local governance directorate.

Badakhshan, Badghis, Balkh, Daykundi, Ghazni, Ghor, Helmand, Herat, Kabul, Laghman, Nangarhar, Nimroz, Parwan, Samangan, Sar-i-pul, Takhar and Wardak provinces are likely to be named.

Most of Herat and Kabul were handed over to Afghan control in a first wave of transition in July, but some districts remain under NATO’s remit.

Karzai "will announce the names of the provinces... at Istanbul conference on November 2," Abdul Khaliq Farahi, director of the Independent Directorate of Local Governance, told governors gathered at a meeting in Kabul.

But questions remain over the handover and Farahi gave no indication about when the second phase of transition would begin or how long it would take.

The first phase, this summer, was heralded as a success by officials, but the process has not been smooth, with insurgents continuing to bomb those areas and staging high-profile complex attacks in the capital Kabul.

Significantly, once-peaceful Panjshir, a hotbed of anti-Taliban resistance, was hit this month by its first suicide bombing of the war, while unrest dogs the transferred capital of southern Helmand province, Lashkar Gar.

Although there is widespread criticism of the Afghan army and police, and their ability to stand alone, NATO insists the handovers are only the beginning of a two-year process before Afghans can assume full control of each area.

Defence ministry spokesman General Zahir Azimi said the ambitious second phase focused on areas where there is currently a large international presence.

"Definitely we will start the second phase with complete preparation," he insisted to reporters at a press conference.

Istanbul will gather regional leaders in an attempt to further peace efforts to end the Taliban-led insurgency after 10 years, the deaths of thousands of troops and civilians, and a war bill of billions of dollars.

The phased transition from foreign to Afghan control across the war-torn country is part of a timetable set to withdraw all US-led NATO combat troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014, leaving the Afghans in charge.

Farahi said leaders from the likely areas for transition would be consulted about their views and concerns on Wednesday, which could lead to the removal of some troubled districts from the list.

But the names of the provinces are unlikely to be changed, he said.

The entire province of Parwan, where a fuel tanker was bombed overnight, leading to the deaths of 10 people, would be part of the second phase.

Other provinces likely to be handed over in their entirety are Balkh, Daykundi, Nimroz, Samangan, Sar-i-pul and Takhar.

Parwan is considered generally peaceful and is home to Bagram, one of the biggest US-run bases in Afghanistan.

"Parwan is prepared, there is no problem. We are ready to take security responsibility for the entire province," said provincial governor Basir Salangi, branding the truck bomb an "act of terror".

Kabul city was handed over in 2008, with most of the wider province handed over in July. But the next phase would see the transition of the final district of Sarobi, where French-led forces have been fighting.

Laghman province has long been troubled by insurgents, particularly by the Hezb-e-Islami faction led by former prime minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.

The provincial capital, Mehtar Lam, was handed over in July. Only Qarghayi district would be ready for the next handover, according to a list of the new locations obtained by AFP.

"I’m very happy and confident that Laghman is included in the second phase of transition. Yes, we are ready," said provincial governor Iqbal Azizi.