Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Holiday Gift Guide
Gift ideas & reviews for this holiday season
Start Browsing
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Environment
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
You Witness
The Great Debate
Blogs
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
You Witness News
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Afghan president sees "dim ray of hope" for peace
Mon Nov 24, 2008 3:13pm EST
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Jon Hemming
KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the emergence of a democratic government in Pakistan offered a "dim ray of hope" that regional cooperation, including India, could help bring an end to Taliban and al Qaeda violence.
Afghan officials have long accused Pakistan's intelligence service of secretly backing Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan to keep the country weak and achieve "strategic depth," allowing the Pakistani army to concentrate on defending the border with India.
Pakistan has always denied the charge, but analysts say the policy backfired with Taliban militants in the tribal regions along the rugged Afghan border now threatening stability in Pakistan with dozens of suicide bombs that have killed hundreds in the last two years.
But the emergence of a democratic government in Pakistan and the election of Asif Ali Zardari as president there in September offered a chance for change, Karzai said.
"Democratic change in Pakistan is good news for Afghans, Pakistanis and, by extension, many others across the world," Karzai wrote in an opinion piece in The Australian newspaper.
The United States and its NATO allies with troops fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan have been keen to foster dialogue and good relations between Karzai and Zardari to replace the often acrimonious mud-slinging of the past.
TRUST
"I visited Pakistan for President Zardari's inauguration and for the first time I saw a dim ray of hope," Karzai said.
"If we can all work together -- Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, the U.S. and our allies -- I see a possibility of moving beyond the days when a government thinks it needs extremism as an instrument of policy," he said.
"When all governments in the region reject extremism, there will be no place for extremists, and terrorism will wither away."
U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has said the U.S.-led war against the Taliban in Afghanistan might be made easier if Washington worked to improve trust between India and Pakistan.
"A lot of what drives, it appears, motivations on the Pakistan side of the border, still has to do with their concerns and suspicions about India," Obama said after a visit to Afghanistan in July.
Karzai said that after the rapid overthrow of the Taliban following the September 11 attacks, the international community made a mistake by concentrating on Afghanistan as the battlefield against militancy instead of adopting a regional approach.
After being driven from power in Kabul, Taliban leaders sought refuge along the Pakistani border and were able to regroup and launch a large-scale insurgency in mid-2005 against Karzai's government and Western forces inside the country.
That insurgency has grown steadily since then and has spread to areas close to the capital with a campaign of guerrilla warfare in the countryside backed by suicide bombs in the cities. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
My Web
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
IAEA chief, West clash over nuclear aid for Syria
Also on Reuters
Luhrmann offers "Australia" as an escape from fear
Slideshow
Highlights from the American Music Awards
More part-time work is bad sign for United States
Related News
British soldier killed in Afghanistan bomb blast
2:51pm EST
Editor's Choice
Pictures
Video
Articles
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. View Slideshow
Bra for boys
Cheap art?
Whale deaths
Business: Back-to-basics in fashion for U.S. stocks
Environment: South Korea builds city from sea
Science: Scientists shed light on causes of epilepsy
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Recommended
Citigroup gets massive government bailout | Video
White House says unaware of any Citigroup rescue talks
Minorities fear trend from California gay marriage ban
Obama costly stimulus needed to jolt U.S. economy | Video
Boom turns to gloom as crisis hits Dubai
Wall Street flies after government rescues Citi
Obama taps Berkeley professor as senior economist
Hundreds wait at Verizon stores for BlackBerry Storm | Video
RPT-TOPWRAP 7-US govt steps in to save Citi, markets rally
R&B star Chris Brown sweeps American Music Awards
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
U.S. Government bails out Citigroup
Bra for boys is bestseller
Obama's economic stimulus plan
Financial crisis dominates APEC
Astronauts finish longest spacewalk
Venezuela votes, with mixed results
Stocks soar on Citigroup rescue
Whales die in mass stranding
Bush pleges new trade push
Rome calls in the bird-busters
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
The Great Debate
Reinforcing what? The EU's role in Eastern Congo
The EU seems to lack the political will for military invention in eastern Congo. But it might still be a force for good if it can muster diplomatic unity and take on some practical short-term commitments in support of UN forces. Commentary
Reuters Deals
The global destination for corporate leaders, deal-makers and innovators
Knowledge to Act
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Interactive TV |
Labs |
Reuters in Second Life |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.