Afghanistan on the right track of reconstruction, says Afghan envoy to India

Afghanistans Ambassador to India, S. Makhdoom Raheen, has said that Afghanistan is on the right track of reconstruction.

New Delhi, Feb 26 : Afghanistan's Ambassador to India, S. Makhdoom Raheen, has said that Afghanistan is on the right track of reconstruction.

Welcoming the restoration of the democratic process in Pakistan, Raheen said elections in Pakistan would help restore democracy not only in Pakistan, but also in the entire region.

"Democracy in Pakistan will help our Pakistani brothers and sisters and also the countries of the region, and we all hope people of Pakistan will achieve what they want. These days, people of Afghanistan are busy with reconstructing of their destroyed State," said Raheen, who had come to visit a photo exhibition organised by former Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan, Rakesh Sood.

Sood, having lived in Kabul for more than three years, highlighted the fact that Afghanistan has made tremendous progress in various socio-economic fields over the past five years and added that Afghanistan has more to it than the violent events that are reported by various sections of the media. But he was quick to add that there are many more achievements that Afghanistan has to make before it can 'stabilize'.

"Taliban will try to do that, but at the same time, the Afghan Government and the Afghan people and the international community are equally determined to ensure that the progress that has been registered is not turned back, but we are able to bring more reforms." said Sood.

The insurgency by the Taliban has slowed the pace of economic growth and reconstruction of war-torn Afghanistan, with the Taliban saying that their main goal is to drive out the foreign troops.

U.S.-led troops toppled the Taliban's Government in late 2001, but in the last two years the Islamist militants and their Al-Qaeda allies have made a comeback, prompting hesitancy among some North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) members about deploying troops in areas where the insurgents are most active.

Foreign troops lead the war against the insurgents, but a steady stream of civilian casualties has prompted Afghan officials to ask repeatedly for more coordination of the operations.

The militants' resurgence comes despite the presence of 50,000 foreign troops under the command of NATO and the U.S. military, backed by partially Western-trained and equipped Afghan security forces now numbering more than 120,000.

Afghanistan has been urging its Western allies to channel more aid to the country's security forces to enable them to take the lead in fighting Taliban-led insurgents.

ANI