Karzai seeks help from neighbours to combat 'terror'

Afghan President Hamid Karzai warned Wednesday there would be no hope for peace in his war-ravaged nation without help from its neighbours, particularly Pakistan, to combat terror groups.Karzai was speaking at a one-day conference in Istanbul where more than a dozen nations -- including key neighbours Pakistan and Iran -- signed up to a deal to cooperate in bringing security and stability to Afghanistan.Terrorist networks are by far the major threat to Afghanistans security, Karzai said at the talks aimed at mapping out his countrys future after the departure of Western troops in 2014.They continue to have sanctuaries outside of our border from where they conduct their merciless campaign of destruction, he said. Unless regional cooperation is assured to address the core and root of this issue peace in Afghanistan will remain elusive.Wednesdays talks, held almost 10 years after the Taliban militia were driven out of power in Kabul by a US-led coalition, brought together representatives from some two dozen countries as well as international organisations such as NATO, the EU and the United Nations.A decade on, the hardline Islamists remain a deadly force in Afghanistan, continuing to wage attacks against Afghan, US and NATO forces and Kabuls efforts to bring the Taliban into peace talks have so far been in vain.Kabul, like Washington, has complained that Islamabad is not doing enough against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants who have found refuge in Pakistani tribal areas on the Afghan border.Our hope is that, with the help from our brothers in Pakistan, we will manage to wean away the Taliban leadership from some of the long-established networks of support they enjoy outside Afghanistan and integrate them into the peace process, Karzai said.Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced that 13 countries had signed up to a package of confidence-building measures for cooperation in fields including security, reconstruction and health and the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking.This is the commitment of regional and international actors to work together and rebuild Afghanistan until peace and stability prevails, Davutoglu said at a press conference with Afghan counterpart Zalmai Rassoul.US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns hailed the agreement as the first clear, region-wide statement of support for Afghanistan in this time of transition and reconciliation.The signatories included Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, according to a conference statement.