Karzai accuses Pakistan of trying to enslave Afghanistan

In what could further heighten the tension between Kabul and Islamabad, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has now accused Pakistan of trying to turn his countrymen into "slaves".

In his strongest statement yet blaming Islamabad since a wave a violence swept through southern and south-eastern Afghanistan last year, Karzai said he was the only person responsible to prevent Afghans from becoming enslaved by Pakistan, reports The News.

In an indirect reference to the General Musharraf regime, he said: "They wanted to make me accept to become their slave. But even if they kill 25 million people in Afghanistan I won't become their slave".

The timing of the statement carries significance as they come at time when Islamabad and Kabul and putting final touches for the joint jirgas to be addressed by President Karzai and General Musharraf along their countries' shared borders in an effort to quell insurgent raids into Afghanistan.

Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of not doing enough to control attacks in southern and south-eastern Afghanistan by Taliban and al Qaeda elements based along the mountainous and porous Pak-Afghan border region.

Under an understanding reached at the White House earlier this year, Karzai and Musharraf will attend jirgas with tribal elders and governors focused on the Afghan border provinces of Nangahar and Paktika, and North Waziristan where they will seek ways to employ armed tribesmen on both sides of the border to stabilise the region and cut down on insurgent raids.

Article Source: http://www.share.onlypunjab.com

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