McCully expects Taleban defections to dominate agenda

Murray McCully. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Foreign Minister Murray McCully expects the issue of defection of insurgent Taleban to be a major theme of the conference of Afghanistan in London due to start tomorrow.

Mr McCully is on his way to the conference, which will be attended by President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other foreign ministers of countries in the international security force in Afghanistan.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who will co-host the conference, talked about paying some Taleban to renounce violence and join a democratic process.

President Karzai said in Turkey yesterday: "Those Taleban who are not part of al Qaeda or other terrorist networks are welcome to come back to their country, lay down arms and resume life under the constitution of Afghanistan."

Mr McCully told the Herald yesterday he expected the conference to discuss the rules around engaging low-level Taleban - "what is low-level, what is too senior in the Taleban ranks to be part of that process, what sort of rules of probity fit around the engagement of such individuals because it is a process which, unconstrained, could lead to some bad outcomes".

Foreign troop numbers are to be boosted by 37,000 in the next few months in the hope of providing enough stability to hand over security to Afghan forces and to replace foreign troops with development aid.

Nato's top commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, said he believed a political solution to all conflicts was inevitable.

"As a soldier, my personal feeling is there's been enough fighting and ... all of us [need to] do the fighting necessary to shape conditions where people can get on with their lives. I think any Afghans can play a role if they focus on the future and not the past."

Mr McCully said it was an important development stage in Afghanistan with President Karzai yet to get his Administration fully in place.

"The international community is looking to identify how it can provide most support but also ensure there are no misunderstandings about the need for good progress in terms of anti-corruption measures and improved governance."

As well as having the SAS in Kabul, about 140 New Zealand Defence Force personnel are leading the provincial reconstruction team in Bamyan province, which will be slowly replaced by civilian development staff.

Mr McCully is expected to meet Mrs Clinton and may discuss the rescheduling of her trip to New Zealand.