After harsh opposition to statement of President Karzai, he reacted by saying that his remarks were misinterpreted. In a conference held in Kabul, he said that he wanted to improve the bilateral relation between Washington and Kabul instead of destroying it. Last week, in a televised speech, President Karzai raised finger in criticism of Taliban for holding daily talks with the United States. “The Taliban said they wanted to show their strength,” he said. “This is while the leaders of the Taliban, their representatives, are every day at meetings with the Americans abroad.” He talked of clandestine meeting between Taliban and US while Taliban frequently rejected any resumption of negotiation after the failure of talks in March last year over claimed a prisoner exchange. President Karzai had also argued that suicide bombings only enabled US-led military force to justify its presence in the country. “The bombs that were detonated in Kabul and Khost were not a show of force, they were serving America,” he said in a televised speech in Kabul.
His statements were widely reflected in national and international media. Some highly popular American Newspapers criticized his remarks. American officials also rejected any kind of clandestine negotiation with Taliban militants as alleged by President Karzai. Inside the country, political oppositions also branded them as irresponsible remarks which only distract Afghan people about the mode of relation with United States whose military presence is highly necessary for peace and stability.
All political opposition parties and coalitions strongly condemned the anti-US tirades of President Karzai. In a joint statement by the 22-part coalition on Wednesday, they said the international community, particularly the United States, should not take very seriously anything Karzai says.
The Cooperation Council of Political Parties and Coalitions that include 22-parties from the entire opposition termed the recent comments of President Karzai highly dangerous for Afghanistan’s future and relations with its international friends.
They said Karzai’s statements do not represent the view of the people of Afghanistan. They further accused the President of making deliberate attempts to push Afghanistan towards crisis and demanded him to end such attitude towards the international community.
Country’s leading opposition coalition National Front strongly condemned, saying such attempts are deliberately aimed at creating crisis to manipulate and escape from responsibilities for free, fair and transparent elections in 2014. The Front recognized the uncountable contributions of international community, particularly the United States in Afghanistan with sacrifices of blood and treasure and hoped the international community would continue its contribution regardless of personal tirades of Karzai.
Similarly, the second leading coalition National Coalition leader Dr. Abdullah said thoughtless remarks will take the country down, for narrow interests of a small ruling group that wants to cling to power. He added that the leadership has lost its way. He termed the latest remarks of President Karzai equivalent to the efforts of Taliban to topple the current system.
Despite the strong domestic reaction, as usual, the international media and mainstream American press which highlighted the controversial statements of President Karzai has not given due coverage to its condemnation by Afghan opposition groups, creating a perception based on one-sided story among masses thinking as if all people in Afghanistan share Karzai’s views. Such a selective coverage, based on sensational priorities of the international media is unfair to the people of Afghanistan and future of this country. Their one-sided reporting makes negative impact on the international public opinion about Afghanistan.
Definitely, the sentence that suicide attacks justify the presence of foreign security forces means that foreign allies are looking for a pretext to stay in the country. And the stretch of their presence serves their interest. But analysts maintain that US military presence only serve the Afghan national interest and ensure the long-term growth and stability.
However, the best option both for Afghanistan and US in the present scenario is a relation based on trust and cooperation. This particular issue clearly shows that such a relation is not in place at a time when Afghanistan is going through a very crucial phase of its history. Minor mistakes during this phase may cost much. Both the countries need to realize the sacrifices they have made in defeating terrorism to a certain extent and establishing a comparatively better Afghan society. Moreover, both Afghan and US authorities must make sure that they build strong relations so as to defeat the enemies of Afghanistan.