 | ||
 | ||
| An Afghan woman walks with her child in the old city of Kabul |
DAVOS, Switzerland (AFP) — President Barack Obama should deepen US engagement in Afghanistan but show more restraint in Pakistan, ministers said Thursday as the volatile region took centre stage in Davos.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told delegates that US drone attacks on Pakistani territory were "counterproductive" and called for a new approach by Obama's administration.
Afghan Defence Minister Mohammad Rahim Wardak said he welcomed the prospect of increased numbers of US troops in his country but pleaded for the larger military presence to be accompanied by more development aid.
All participants in the discussion, including French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan, underlined that military efforts alone could not succeed.
"I don't think military action is the only solution to the problems," said Gilani, who called for development and dialogue to be part of a three-pronged approach to tackling Islamic militants.
He heavily criticised attacks on Pakistan's restive western regions by US drones, which he said undermined the government's strategy of engaging tribes and separating them from militants.
"When there is a drone attack that unites them again, the tribes and the militants," Gilani said.
Obama pledged during his election campaign to continue drone attacks in Pakistan if there was evidence militants could be killed, even without approval from the Pakistani government.
Afghanistan, whose fundamentalist Taliban regime was ousted by US-led forces in 2001, and Pakistan, which has nuclear weapons, have emerged as the key areas in the fight against radical Islamic militancy.
Gilani welcomed the appointment by Obama of US ambassador Richard Holbrooke as special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan and suggested that he could also help with strained India-Pakistan relations.
Turkey's Babacan, whose country has helped mediate in the region, also criticised "third-party military operations" such as drone attacks.
"When they are done without coordinating with governments it just helps terrorists and doesn't serve any good purpose."
Two missile strikes in South and North Waziristan, near the Afghanistan border, last Friday were the first such attacks since US President Barack Obama took office last week.
Pakistani security officials said at least 21 people were killed.
Back on Afghanistan, for which the Obama administration has promised a new strategy, Wardak welcomed proposals to send more US troops in addition to the 36,000 already stationed there.
"There is a gap that has to be breached (until Afghan troops can take over security) and there will be a requirement of international forces," the Afghan defence minister said.
Obama is weighing up the risk of a rapid drawdown in forces in Iraq to deploy up to 30,000 more US troops in Afghanistan, which would nearly double the US military presence there.
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said this week that America's primary goal should be "to prevent Afghanistan from being used as a base for terrorists and extremists to attack the United States and our allies."
Some saw this as a significant narrowing of US ambitions.
Kouchner, who ruled out sending more French troops, said forces were needed to guarantee security to enable Afghanistan to develop its economy.
"There's no unique military solution in Afghanistan, but there is certainly a way to give some confidence to the people and this is the key," he said.
Wardak stressed the importance of improving the quality of life of citizens and assailed non-government organisations (NGOs) that have been funded to help with reconstruction and development after the ousting of the Taliban.
"Out of total aid of some 30 billion dollars, only a small portion of this aid has been given to the Afghan government. It has all been used by NGOs and donor communities," he said.
"Something like a classroom, if we built it, it will cost 10,000 dollars. If it's built by the international community it will cost 30,000."
Wardak said anywhere between 15 and 30 percent of the aid money pouring into Afghanistan is wasted on overheads and contracting and sub-contracting out the work to others.
He admitted government corruption also remained a problem.
"Nobody can deny that there is corruption," he said.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told delegates that US drone attacks on Pakistani territory were "counterproductive" and called for a new approach by Obama's administration.
Afghan Defence Minister Mohammad Rahim Wardak said he welcomed the prospect of increased numbers of US troops in his country but pleaded for the larger military presence to be accompanied by more development aid.
All participants in the discussion, including French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan, underlined that military efforts alone could not succeed.
"I don't think military action is the only solution to the problems," said Gilani, who called for development and dialogue to be part of a three-pronged approach to tackling Islamic militants.
He heavily criticised attacks on Pakistan's restive western regions by US drones, which he said undermined the government's strategy of engaging tribes and separating them from militants.
"When there is a drone attack that unites them again, the tribes and the militants," Gilani said.
Obama pledged during his election campaign to continue drone attacks in Pakistan if there was evidence militants could be killed, even without approval from the Pakistani government.
Afghanistan, whose fundamentalist Taliban regime was ousted by US-led forces in 2001, and Pakistan, which has nuclear weapons, have emerged as the key areas in the fight against radical Islamic militancy.
Gilani welcomed the appointment by Obama of US ambassador Richard Holbrooke as special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan and suggested that he could also help with strained India-Pakistan relations.
Turkey's Babacan, whose country has helped mediate in the region, also criticised "third-party military operations" such as drone attacks.
"When they are done without coordinating with governments it just helps terrorists and doesn't serve any good purpose."
Two missile strikes in South and North Waziristan, near the Afghanistan border, last Friday were the first such attacks since US President Barack Obama took office last week.
Pakistani security officials said at least 21 people were killed.
Back on Afghanistan, for which the Obama administration has promised a new strategy, Wardak welcomed proposals to send more US troops in addition to the 36,000 already stationed there.
"There is a gap that has to be breached (until Afghan troops can take over security) and there will be a requirement of international forces," the Afghan defence minister said.
Obama is weighing up the risk of a rapid drawdown in forces in Iraq to deploy up to 30,000 more US troops in Afghanistan, which would nearly double the US military presence there.
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said this week that America's primary goal should be "to prevent Afghanistan from being used as a base for terrorists and extremists to attack the United States and our allies."
Some saw this as a significant narrowing of US ambitions.
Kouchner, who ruled out sending more French troops, said forces were needed to guarantee security to enable Afghanistan to develop its economy.
"There's no unique military solution in Afghanistan, but there is certainly a way to give some confidence to the people and this is the key," he said.
Wardak stressed the importance of improving the quality of life of citizens and assailed non-government organisations (NGOs) that have been funded to help with reconstruction and development after the ousting of the Taliban.
"Out of total aid of some 30 billion dollars, only a small portion of this aid has been given to the Afghan government. It has all been used by NGOs and donor communities," he said.
"Something like a classroom, if we built it, it will cost 10,000 dollars. If it's built by the international community it will cost 30,000."
Wardak said anywhere between 15 and 30 percent of the aid money pouring into Afghanistan is wasted on overheads and contracting and sub-contracting out the work to others.
He admitted government corruption also remained a problem.
"Nobody can deny that there is corruption," he said.