President Karzai Chairs Meeting on Insecurity
Office of the Spokesman to the President
07/09/2006
Arg, Kabul - H.E. Hamid Karzai, President
of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, summoned at the Presidential
Palace today the second meeting of the Policy Action Group,
a special committee consisted of various ministers and officials
from the government of Afghanistan and representatives from
UNAMA, Coalition Forces, NATO and some NATO member countries.
The groups’ first meeting was held two weeks ago on 24
June in which the President directed an urgent assessment of
the security situation and the establishing of a joint process
between the Afghan Government and the international community
designed to address the country’s most urgent security
and reconstruction issues.
The President was informed that over the past
two weeks the Afghan Government and the international community
had held several intensive meetings both separately and jointly
in which an assessment of the security situation was undertaken
and a joint paper produced on factors behind the current insecurity.
During the meeting, Gen. Abdul Rahim Wardak, the
Minister of Defense of Afghanistan and Mr. Tom Koenigs, the
Special Representative of the Secretary General of the UN for
Afghanistan, gave a detailed briefing on the committee’s
work. This assessment identified principal elements of the current
insecurity, which continues to feature regular acts of terrorism.
These acts are perpetrated by a variety of groups including
those linked to international terrorist networks, fighters recruited
from outside of Afghanistan and the opium industry which provides
additional support to these groups.
Based on this assessment the President approved
a set of recommendations for immediate action. These included
measures that the Government of Afghanistan and its partners
from the international community must implement on an urgent
basis in the following five areas:
· External Factors / Diplomacy
· Governance
· Security
· Economic Development
· Public Outreach
It was agreed that a process led by the President would be established
through which the committee will provide advice and guidance
on policy and strategic issues, while overseeing an implementation
team that will take activities forward. There would be a regular
process of meetings and reporting back to the President.
The President commended the work of the committee
and gave advice on how the process should be further improved.
He emphasized strengthening community level engagement and supporting
traditional community leadership. He also stressed that government
institutions at provincial and district level would continue
to be strengthened, and government officials directed to show
greater responsiveness to community needs.
The President instructed the committee to
work on a detailed implementation plan. He welcomed the fact
that urgency was reflected in the work of the committee and
that the committee had conducted its work in a united and effective
manner.
