Afghan president welcomes NATO pullout plan

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has welcomed an announcement by US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) about the withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan’s Maidan Wardak Province.

On Thursday, Karzai also said that “The decision for withdrawal follows repeated local complaints of harassment and annoyance by the American Special Forces, and a decision by the National Security Council as well as a presidential order.”

On Wednesday, President Karzai and Commander of US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) General Joseph Dunford agreed on a plan for phased withdrawal of coalition forces from the area.

“Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, the ISAF commander, met with President Karzai at the Palace earlier today to finalize the details on the way forward in Wardak Province,” the ISAF said in a statement.

The US-led forces will first withdraw from Nerkh District, which is currently controlled by afghan Local Police (ALP) aided by the Coalition forces, and then from other districts.

Based on the agreement, the Afghan government will soon move Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) into the area.

The statement did not mention the exact date for the withdrawal, only noting, “The timeline for moving the ANSF into Nerkh District will be determined by the Afghan Government.”

Late in February Karzai accused US Special Forces of killings and torturing villagers in Wardak Province and order them to leave the area within two weeks.

The deadline expired at midnight Saturday, March 9.

Karzai issued the order only days after US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta unveiled a proposal during a NATO meeting in Brussels, suggesting that US and European forces remain in Afghanistan beyond the 2014 withdrawal plan.

The US invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 under the pretext of combating terrorism.

The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but insecurity continues to rise across the country despite the presence of thousands of US-led soldiers.