US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived here for international talks Monday aimed at charting a course for Afghanistan after NATO combat troops withdraw, as her aides played down a boycott by Pakistan.
Clinton will meet with President Hamid Karzai and other Afghan officials at a conference in Bonn that is also aimed at ensuring international financial and technical support continues after the troops withdraw in 2014.
The chief US diplomat will also meet her German and other counterparts from 100 countries and international organizations, but not from Pakistan, which announced a boycott after a deadly NATO bombing raid.
US officials have stopped short of offering an apology pending an investigation into the November 26 raid that killed 24 Pakistani troops on the troubled border.
Clinton has voiced regret over the boycott because she said Pakistan has a stake in a secure and stable Afghanistan but aides travelling with her denied Pakistan’s absence would undermine the conference in this west German city.
Analysts have said the absence undermines efforts to promote peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban but US officials said neither Washington nor Kabul had current high expectations for reconcilation.
Pakistan is seen as having key influence over the Taliban.
“I don’t think it (the boycott) will impact the conclusions of the conference in any way,” a senior State Department official told reporters on the condition of anonymity during the flight to Bonn from Washington on Sunday.
“We’re all anticipating they (the Pakistanis) will continue to play an important role moving foreward. I wouldn’t read too much into their non appearance tomorrow (Monday),” the official said.
The official instead hailed an Afghan economic strategy which will be unveiled at the conference and which he said shows the Karzai government wishes to take charge of its economic future.
“It’s quite sober. It’s very clear-eyed. It makes a series of specific commitments that they would like to move forward on, on legal and regulatory reforms,” he said.
The US State Department official said the Afghan leadership has moved to clear up financial transparency problems that have blocked international development funds to Afghanistan in the wake of the scandal over Kabul Bank.
The troubled lender was split into a “good” and “bad” bank in April in a bid to save it from collapse after former executives granted themselves off-the-books loans worth a reported $900 million.
Another US official said the United States, Britain, the European Union, Japan and Australia froze payments to the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund, which helps community programs like well drilling and road building.
“We’re through the relative stalemate (on funding) that occurred after the Kabul Bank” scandal, the first official said. “We’re back on track with a number of economic reforms and a commitment by the Afghans to continue these.”
The United States plans to distribute in Bonn its own economic strategy for Afghanistan which stresses support for key sectors like agriculture, light manufacturing as well as mining and services, including banking.
After Bonn, Clinton is set to travel to Vilnius, Geneva, Brussels and The Hague.
lols – like this "conference" is going to achieve anything with or without Pakistan. Total joke – americans trying to wiggle out of a lost war. So funny.
Educated muslims and others who knows about Afganistan and Pakistan socialy,religiously,georaphicaly saying without Pakistan no other power can solve this problem peacefully because Pakistans populations 60% are pastoons and 60%of army men are pashtoons and these pashtoons marriges in Afganistans pashtoons,relgious,econimic relations from when the world made by Allah so litrates muslims thinks Uas And NATO,EUROPE,india etc intentionaly want to destroy pakistan for their money greed and their greedy intrests as they are doing in weak and moneygreedy arab countries so Pakistanthis step is very right for safety of pakistan and Afganistan.We muslims think Mushrraf type cowards and moneygreedy destroyed pakistan too if theyhavebeen took like this type decision before Pakistan not hurted so mmuch as pakistan suffering now ,fighting toeachother,drone attackswhich are hitting pakistan,Pakistan economicaly suffering badly so now Pakistanhas only way to fight against their enymies for the safety of whole Pakistan,inshaAllah pakistan will win because they are sacrifising for their lifes for islam and for the country.
Get your facts straight idiot. Punjabis are 60% of our population, not Pakhtoons. What you might have wanted to say is that Pakistan is home to the largest concentration of Pakhtoons living anywhere in the world while Afghanistan's largest ethnic group are also Pakhtoons on their side of the border. Secondly, keep your religious lecture out of this when you are referring to my Pakistan because war in Afghanistan has hardly anything to do with religion.
AOA. Ya Pakistan is paying guest in this war. Pakistan is good game players. Pakistan Govt need more money from US that is why they are going to play big game.
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