Azerbaijan, Baku, Sep.1 / Trend D.Khatinoglu/
The Afghan army gets trained and develops rapidly, Head of Press Service of the Ministry of Defence of Afghanistan, General Zahir Azimi told Trend.
"We are well ahead of plan for development" said Azimi by phone from Kabul.
According to him, now the army has increased to 134 thousand people although according to a plan we intended to achieve this target by January 2011.
NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Tuesday that NATO plans to fully convey the Afghan Government authority to ensure security in the country by the end of 2014.
The commander of military forces of NATO, ISAF and the U.S. in Afghanistan U.S. General David Petraeus said on Tuesday that the transfer of control over some areas of the country to the Afghan army will start in 2011.
General Petraeus noted the importance of supplying the army of Afghanistan and exercises.
According to General Azimi, the Afghan army will be able to restore security in the country by 2014.
"Now we have the army of 134 thousand people. We plan to raise the number and quality of army", said Azimi.
Opinions about the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan in 2014 are different. Earlier, U.S. General James Conway said that this step will give courage to the Taliban. Also according to the U.S. General William Caldwell, with a glance to illiteracy of Afghan soldiers and the quality of the military exercises, there are doubts about the ability of national Army to provide security in the country.
But, according to General Zahir Azimi, the army has 35,000 educated men. Afghan war, and now literacy is a condition for entrance in army.
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