West to set down 2014 exit strategy

Western troops are to pull out of Afghanistan by 2014, under a blueprint for drawing down coalition forces that is set to begin in a matter of months.

A leaked communique - a copy of which has been seen by the Independent on Sunday - reveals how President Hamid Karzai will announce the timetable for a "conditions-based and phased transition" at the International Conference on Afghanistan to be held in Kabul on Wednesday.

The meeting - which is set to map out the way ahead for the war-torn country - will be attended by United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the Foreign Secretary, William Hague, and foreign ministers from more than 70 countries.

An agreed version of the document, marked "not for circulation", was sent to senior diplomats yesterday by Staffan de Mistura, the UN Special Representative in Afghanistan.

It states: "The international community expressed its support for the President of Afghanistan's objective that the Afghan National Security Forces should lead and conduct military operations in all provinces by the end of 2014."

This comes just weeks after Britain's Foreign Secretary, William Hague, hinted that British troops could leave by 2014 and is the first formal confirmation of the timescale that governments have been working behind the scenes to agree in recent months.

The communique goes on to pledge that the international community will continue to "provide the support necessary to increase security during this time, and the continued support in training, equipping and providing interim financing to the ANSF at every level to take on the task of securing their country".

It adds: "The government of Afghanistan and the international community agreed to jointly assess provinces with the aim of announcing by the end of 2010 that the process of transition is under way."

The major announcement is one of many issues surrounding development and governance that will be addressed at the conference, as well as a US$800 million ($1.13 billion) five-year Afghan peace and reintegration programme that "aims to reintegrate in five years up to 36,000 ex-combatants and to reach 4000 communities in 220 districts of 22 provinces".

The document also outlines short-term goals for coalition troops. These include combating the opium trade by maintaining the provinces that are currently free of drug cultivation and increasing the number of poppy-free provinces to 24 in 12 months. It also describes transparent elections as a matter of paramount importance.

Karzai will tell delegates the conference represents a turning point in Afghanistan's "transition to an era of Afghan-led peace, justice and more equitable development".

He will also pledge that "expanding the day-to-day choices and capabilities of the Afghan people and ensuring their fundamental rights" will "remain the cornerstones of my government's approach to peace-building and comprehensive recovery".

- INDEPENDENT