Karzai says to ban terrorism in all forms

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai told a South Asia summit that extremism and terrorism in all forms, as well as its sponsorship and funding, should be banned.
Speaking Tuesday at the summit of the eight-nation South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation in India’s capital of New Delhi, Karzai warned, “It is our duty to ban extremism and terrorism in all forms and sources, including political sponsorship and financing,” reported the Press Trust of India.
Afghanistan was admitted as the eighth member of the SAARC at this year’s summit.
“Should we fail in this regard, the progress will be hindered in the entire region and the security will be compromised further,” Karzai said.
Karzai said his country has paid a heavy price as a victim of terrorism and extremism.
“Afghanistan’s political and economic isolation should never be repeated. Instead a trans-economic cooperation must be pursued for the sake of economic and regional stability,” he said.
SAARC, formed in 1985, is the world’s largest regional organization covering a population of 1.4 billion. Its members include India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives and Bhutan and now Afghanistan.