Karzai weeps for Afghanistan's prospects
Afghan President Hamid Karzai wept Tuesday as he lamented the impact of the ongoing violence on his country's education and future prospects.
Speaking at an event to mark Literacy Day, Karzai said he was concerned that the security situation in Afghanistan could force many people to leave, threatening the country's long-term stability.
'Our children can't go to school for fear of bombings, suicide attacks or aerial bombardments,' he said to an audience gathered in a high school next to the presidential palace.
'Our teachers cannot go to school because of intimidation and threats of assassinations,' he said, adding that the violence had prevented many schools from opening.
Karzai broke into tears when speaking of the Afghan children, including his own four-year-old son, who could be forced to emigrate and lose touch with their native country.
'I don't want my son Mirwais to become a foreigner,' a tearful Karzai said. 'I want him to be Afghan and grow up in this country and go to school in this Kabul.'
More than seven million Afghans have fled to Western and neighbouring countries in the past 30 years of conflict. Millions have returned following the ouster of Taliban regime in late 2001, but a large number remain abroad.
During his emotive and well-received speech, the president also called on the Taliban militants to renounce violence and engage in the peace process.
'I call once again on the Taliban. Hey countrymen! Don't destroy your country to benefit others, don't kill your people to benefit others, and don't close your schools for the benefits of others,' he said.
Comments
More Afghanistan News
RSS-
Karzai gives wish list to India but says he doesnt want Indian soldiers on Afghan soil
Addressing media persons in New Delhi, visiting Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday said Kabul has given a wish list to India, but did not specify what the list contains. Karzai said: "We have a wish list that we have put before the Government of India. It is upto the government now to provide us according to their means." Karzai also informed reporters about the content of his ...
-
NATO troops begin withdrawal of equipment from Afghanistan
The NATO and US troops have started withdrawal of their equipment from Afghanistan after more than ten years of war. The US and its allies invaded Afghanistan to oust Taliban government in the aftermath of tragic incident of September 11, 2001. They are set to withdraw all their forces by the end of 2014, reports The Express Tribune. Pakistan is a key transit route for the NATO mission in ...
-
Number of Afghan women jailed for moral crimes increasing says human rights group
A right group has said the number of women and girls in Afghanistan imprisoned for moral crimes has risen by 50 percent in the past 18 months. Human Rights Watch said that many women are jailed for running away from home, often from forced marriages or domestic violence. According to the BBC, the group said other women are jailed for alleged adultery, in truth often involving rape. HRW said ...
-
It is too early to comment on Talibans peace talk offer says US
The US has said it is too early to comment on Pakistani Taliban's peace talks offer to Prime Minister-designate Nawaz Sharif."It would be premature for us to comment on any potential negotiations," a State Department spokesperson told PTI when asked about peace talks offered by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan which is at war with the country's government."The United ...
-
Pakistan summons Afghan envoy over border post firing
Pakistan on Thursday summoned Afghan Charge d'Affaires and lodged protest over unprovoked firing on a border check post, the Foreign Ministry said. The Foreign Ministry said that two soldiers were injured in firing by Afghan troops late Wednesday. "The Afghan Charge d'Affaires was summoned to the Foreign Office today for conveying protest of the Government of Pakistan on an ...
-
Afghan protest over womens rights
Taliban regime known for its harsh treatment of women.The protest came days after conservative politicians' vehement opposition blocked an attempt to cement the decree's provisions in law.Most of international force that ousted the Taliban is now preparing to withdraw by the end of next year and activists fear an erosion of women's rights will follow if hardliners pressure the ...
-
Afghan students protest women’s rights
Afghan university students chant slogans as they demonstrate against the Elimination of Violence against Women law, in Kabul on May 22, 2013. The Afghan parliament on May 18 cut short a debate on a bill to protect women from violence after complaints from some traditionalist MPs that it was against Islamic teaching. The Elimination of Violence against Women (EVAW) law, which was passed by a ...
-
Afghan’s ties with India not at the cost of Pak
Nawaz Sharif has talked up his desire for better ties with India. "We have a wishlist that we have presented to India. Now it is upto them to decide," Karzai said during an interaction with a group of journalists on Wednesday, a day after he held talks with Prime ...
-
Afghan interpreters risk being failed by bureaucracy
Downing Street has denied reports that its scheme is open only to interpreters who lose their jobs as troops are withdrawn. Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty ...
-
Afghanistan Inside The Head Of The Giant Buddha
A Fort of Nine Towers . He describes for anchor Marco Werman his family’s efforts to flee the war in the early 1990s, and how they resorted to living in a cave behind the giant Buddha statues in the historic district of ...
-
Lifeline for Afghan interpreters
An Afghan man sits next to a British Army soldier of Highlanders, 4th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, at a joint check point in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan. REUTERS/Shamil ...
-
Afghan cricket captains dad abducted
UNKNOWN gunmen have dragged the father of Afghanistan's cricket captain from his car on the outskirts of Jalalabad city and have taken him hostage, officials ...
-
UK Denmark to give Afghan interpreters visas
The United Kingdom and Denmark will give hundreds of Afghan interpreters who worked for British and Danish troops in Afghanistan visas to live in the UK and ...
-
Britain offers visas to its Afghan interpreters
LONDON (Reuters) - Around 600 interpreters who serve alongside British soldiers in Afghanistan are to be offered visas to live in the UK, in a softening of the government's previous policy of encouraging them to stay in the country after British troops ...
-
Afghanistan Suicide bomber kills anti-Taliban village elder 3 others in busy market
KABUL - A suicide bomber on foot killed an anti-Taliban village elder and at least three other people in a busy marketplace Wednesday in central Afghanistan, the latest in a wave of assassinations and bombings. Habibullah Khan was killed along with two bodyguards and a civilian bystander in the afternoon attack in Ghazni province's Moqur district, police said. At least 14 civilians were ...
-
Why Afghanistan is nervous about the US troop withdrawal
A US soldier secures the area where a suicide car bomber attacked a NATO convoy in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday. Next year will mark the end of NATO's combat mission in Afghanistan. By December 2014 the US and other foreign troops still here will be ...
-
Afghan suicide blast kills 7 officials
A TEENAGE suicide bomber killed seven people in central Afghanistan when he targeted local fighters who battle against Taliban insurgents, officials say. The attacker detonated himself in a market place in Ghazni province, two days after another bomber struck outside government buildings in the north of Afghanistan, killing 14 people, including a provincial politician. "At around 5pm, an ...
-
Imran Khans PTI seeks pro-Taliban clerics help to initiate peace talks with outfit
Peshawar, May 22 : The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has sought the help of an elderly pro-Taliban cleric to initiate peace talks with the militants, party officials have ...
-
Pakistan influence on Taliban important for peace process Karzai
New Delhi, May 22 : Asserting that Pakistan is an important element in maintaining peace in Afghanistan, visiting President Hamid Karzai said on Wednesday it would be difficult to fight terrorism without Islamabad's cooperation because it has influence over ...
-
101st brigades among last in eastern Afghanistan
FORWARD OPERATING BASE SALERNO, Afghanistan - When the 4th Brigade Combat Team from the 101st Airborne Division took control over three key provinces in southeastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, they were likely the last American combat brigade in the area now that the U.S. is handing over responsibility for security to the Afghans.On Forward Operating Base Salerno in Khost Province, leaders of the ...
-
India will do all in its power to promote Afghan stability
India said on Wednesday it will do all within its means to promote stability inAfghanistan after visiting President Hamid Karzai said he had given a military "wishlist" to the Indian ...
-
Afghan interpreters win right to new life in Britain
Afghanistan Up to 600 Afghan interpreters who served with British forces in Afghanistan will be offered the chance of a new life in Britain after a government U-turn.Prime minister David Cameron had initially decided to discourage the interpreters from settling in Britain for fear of the message it would send out about the stability of Afghanistan as foreign forces pull out.Many of the Afghans ...
News from around our Network
Comments
No comments yet for this story
Have your say