KABUL — Afghanistan and Pakistan on Saturday praised the new U.S. strategy for dealing with growing violence in the two countries, with the Afghan president saying the plan to reconcile with moderate Taliban militants was better than expected and his Pakistani counterpart focusing on using development to fight extremism.
President Barack Obama announced the strategy Friday with the hope of reversing the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan. Violence there has been increasing from Taliban militants who fled the 2001 U.S.-led invasion and have been launching cross-border attacks from sanctuaries in Pakistan.
The violence provides cover for al-Qaeda operatives who Obama said are also holed up in Pakistan and planning attacks against the U.S. and other countries. The overarching goal of the new strategy is to “disrupt, dismantle and defeat” al-Qaeda by increasing civilian and military assistance on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistani border.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai praised pledges of increased and better-coordinated assistance to his country under the U.S. plan and Obama’s focus on countering militant sanctuaries in Pakistan.
“This is better than we were expecting as a matter of fact,” Karzai told a news conference.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said billions of dollars in additional civilian aid will help his government fight extremism, and he promised he would not allow Pakistani territory to be used for terrorism — though offered no new measures.
“The U.S. presidency’s new approach represents a positive change,” Zardari said in a speech to Parliament.
Karzai has long championed the idea of reconciliation with the Taliban as a key way to tamp down the growing insurgency in Afghanistan. The Bush administration generally opposed the idea, but Obama stressed reconciliation with more moderate elements of the Taliban on Friday.
