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Top UN delegation visiting Afghanistan
By FISNIK ABRASHI,Associated Press Writer AP - 2 hours 13 minutes ago
KABUL, Afghanistan - A U.N. Security Council delegation arrived in Kabul on Monday to push for regional cooperation as it takes stock of the situation on the ground in Afghanistan, the world body said in a statement.
Among the 15-member delegation is Zalmay Khalilzad, the Afghan-born U.S. ambassador to the U.N., who is often mentioned as a possible candidate in next year's presidential elections in Afghanistan. Khalilzad, who served as U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan following the 2001 U.S. invasion, has said he does not plan to run.
The delegation will "underscore the importance of regional cooperation for governance, security, and development," a U.N. statement said. It will have three days of meetings with top Afghan and international officials.
"An additional aim of their trip is to underline the role of the United Nations in promoting peace and stability," the statement said.
The visit comes as Afghanistan has faced record levels of violence. U.S. officials have said their forces have seen a 30 percent increase in attacks this year compared with 2007.
Since the ouster of the Taliban's hard-line Islamist regime from power following the 2001 invasion, the U.N. has been tasked with leading the civilian effort for the international community.
The U.N. Security Council also legitimized the presence of some 50,000 NATO-led troops, who are involved in daily battles with insurgents, mainly in the country's south and east.
Despite major achievements in Afghanistan, such as getting some 6 million children _ including 2 million girls _ into school, and the holding of presidential and parliamentary elections, the Taliban has bounced back.
It now heads an insurgency that threatens President Hamid Karzai's government and the entire international effort to transform the country.
A Western diplomat in the delegation said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly that the threat was moving closer to the capital, Kabul. "There are perhaps more Taliban embedded in the population in some areas than before."
Another major problem facing the country is deep-seated corruption in the government, the diplomat said.
Neighboring Pakistan and Iran are seen as key in tackling the insurgency.
Pakistan is particularly important because of its relations with the Taliban when it was in power, and allegations that elements of its intelligence service still support some insurgent groups that use Pakistan's lawless tribal areas to launch attacks in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The office of President Hamid Karzai said the Afghan leader spoke with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari by telephone late Sunday. The two emphasized the need to strengthen cooperation and joint counterterrorism efforts to help increase peace in the region, Karzai's office said.
More than 5,500 people _ mostly militants _ have been killed in insurgency-related violence this year, according to an Associated Press tally of figures provided by Afghan and Western officials.
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