The former Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said the Americans are ignoring to target the terrorists beyond the Afghan borders, accusing the United States for playing double game in Afghanistan.

In interview with the Russia Today, Karzai said the Americans are ignoring the pleas by the Afghans to target extremism beyond the Afghan borders, emphasizing that the US should admit it failed its mission to bring peace and security to Afghanistan.

Karzai further added that the United States must seek help from the big neighbors of Afghanistan, including Russia, China, India, and Iran and find ways of addressing the issue of radicalism with these countries, insisting that these countries are also affected.

According to Karzai, Pakistan should also be engaged in a manner to help ease to compete against extremism. However, he said the US and Pakistan lack interest in stopping Afghan war and stall progress of Afghan peace talks.

The former Afghan President also added that Taliban can’t be defeated in war and only peace talks can bring the civil strife of the Afghan nation to an end.

He said the Afghan people can reconcile with Taliban emphasizing that ‘they are Afghans like us but poppy growing is a real curse’.

Karzai also warned the Taliban group that they will not be able to overrun the whole country and will manage to seize a few provincial capitals.

The other issues the former President pointed were Pakistan’s desire dominance in Afghanistan and US drone strikes that prevent in seeking peace and are making Taliban fight harder instead of forcing them to start talks.

US, Pakistan interests determine Afghan events: Karzai

Former president Hamid Karzai also said that American and Pakistani interests and the two countries’ relations with India determine events in the war-torn Afghanistan.

“I think a combination… of the two, of the US interests in the region and Pakistani interests in Afghanistan and the nature of their relations with India has been determining events in Afghanistan – negatively, unfortunately,” Karzai told RT in an interview yesterday.

That would turn into positive and then Afghan would have peace, hoped Karzai. “Other than that, we will not see peace in Afghanistan and the region will, as a result, further destabilize.”

Karzai said when the Americans arrived in 2001 together with the rest of international community, Afghans were liberated, but what was then called the “War on Terror”, was not conducted properly and in the right place.

“Today, as you see, things are not happy in Afghanistan, we have tremendous insecurity, so today, as far as security is concerned, and the campaign against extremism is concerned, we are unhappy.”

The former Afghan leader said the US should explain its ‘failure’ in Afghanistan on security front and seek help from Afghanistan’s neighbours — Russia, China, India and Iran — and find ways of addressing the issue of radicalism together.

“Because Russia too is affected, because China too is affected, because India is affected as well, and because Iran is an important neighbour of Afghanistan,” he said.

“We also have to factor in Pakistan here, and engage with them in a manner that will bring us an ease in campaign extremism.”

Karzai advised the US to reconsider its approach to the war against terrorism and admit the truth and to seek help.

“What I meant was that the US must now sit down and admit the mistakes and begin a new course – a change of course is required.”

The former president sought a correction in the manner, policies, and strategy being pursued in the fight against radicalism.

“Because the sources of this conflict are not in Afghanistan, they are outside of Afghanistan, and the US has been ignoring that four years in spite of our repeated calls to them and repeated pleas with them.”

About Taliban’s advances, Karzai said the rebels could not win the war, they should free themselves from the influence of outsiders and come to their country and seek peace here.

“You cannot win it by war. Have you won it by war? No! Therefore, to the Taliban who are Afghans we extend a hand of friendship and brotherhood and compatriotism.”

This article originally appeared on www.khaama.com ,October 17, 2016. Original link.

This article appeared in Pajhwok News on October 18, 2016. Original link

Disclaimer: Views expressed in the article are not necessarily supported by CRSS.