Azerbaijan, Baku, May 29 / Trend D.Khatinoglu /
Exclusive interview of Trend Persian Desk with Spokesman of Defense Ministry of Afghanistan, General Zahir Azimi
Trend : Last month, Pakistan began military operations against the Taliban in the north and on the border with Afghanistan. What is the position of official Kabul on this issue and what is the support of neighboring countries?
Zahir Azimi: We fully support military operations of Pakistan against Taliban, this step of official Islamabad is in our interests. In particular, we were pleased with the news of the Pakistani army operations in the province of South Vaziristan. We hope that such operations will be held in the province of Northern Vaziristan. We also stated that we are ready to support Pakistan. We are willing to share information with Pakistan, provide information on security and will make every effort to strengthen control on the Afghan-Pakistani border. I would like to also add that we are ready to expand border military operations against the Taliban, together with the Pakistani army. But that it does not mean that we intend to send military forces to Pakistan, support the arms or take any other step that violates the sovereignty of the country.
Q: Currently some operations are carried out against the Taliban in Afghanistan. For example, last week special military operations were held in the province of Badghis. Is there any special reason for the expansion of military operations currently?
A: We have expanded military operations not only in Badghis, but also in other provinces. The reason for this is to further strengthen security in the country prior to the presidential elections. Last week we had four large-scale military operations in the provinces of Helmand, Logar, Ghazni and Pektiya, as a result of which, 30-80 Talibans were killed, a large number of arms was confiscated. We also continue operations in the north of Badghis. But the operation does not mean that we completely destroyed the Taliban in our province. The Taliban has no permanent headquarters, and they can strengthen at any time.
Q: Last week a tripartite meeting of Iran-Pakistan-Afghanistan was held in Tehran. How do you evaluate the results of the meeting of the Presidents of three countries on security?
A: It is necessary to take into consideration that drug trafficking, human trafficking, terrorism and other similar problems have no borders. So, it's not just a problem of ours, but neighboring countries as well. The cooperation of the countries of the regions is necessary to resolve these problems. The meeting focused on these issues and an agreement was reached to expand cooperation.
Q: What is the current situation of the Afghan Army, and what steps are being taken to strengthen the National Army?
A: Today the National Army of Afghanistan is not fully prepared to ensure the security of the country. In fact, it is too early to speak about this. There are problems with the conduct of independent operations, for example, we do not have heavy weapons. In addition, the Air Forces are not in good condition. Last year, 60 percent of military operations was led by the National Army. Last week the National Army of Afghanistan detained and destroyed the world's largest shipment of drugs weighing 120 tons. During the operation, 80 contrabandists were killed. During the same week as a result of military operations in Afghanistan, 14 Taliban were killed in Logar, 33 in Raktii, 30 in Ghazni.
Q: What is the current number of the Afghan Army and how many does it need to increase it in order to ensure the security of the country without the interference of foreign forces?
A: Currently, the Army has more than 90,000 people. We plan to bring its number up to 134,000 by 2011. In the future, we need a minimum of 150,000 military people in order to ensure national security with the Afghan forces. Some plans and programs are realized in this regard.