§ Mrs. SpelmanTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of plans to create a national army in Afghanistan. [87070]
§ Clare ShortPresident Karzai issued a decree on 1 December 2002, setting out a plan for establishing a national army. A copy is being placed in the Libraries. We welcome the announcement as an integral part of the wider reform and reconstruction process. A professional multi ethnic military force and defence institutions accountable to appropriate civilian control and oversight will be developed, with the support of the US as lead nation, for the coordination of assistance to the Afghan national army. Detailed implementation plans will now be prepared, with support from UNAMA and donor countries. The UK has already pledged to contribute £10 million from the Global Conflict Prevention Pool to the interim payment of army salaries for the newly trained force, provided the Afghan Government fulfils certain transparency and accountability criteria that the UK has set as a precondition for these payments.
§ Mrs. SpelmanTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions she has had with the Government of Afghanistan on recent fighting between warlords. [87071]
§ Clare ShortThere continues to be low level inter-factional fighting in Afghanistan. This underlines the need to provide assistance to the Afghan Administration in the building of appropriate defence and security forces that are able to improve security for the Afghan people and maintain Afghanistan's territorial integrity. The recent presidential decree on the Armed Forces and disarmament demobilisation and reintegration programme should initiate that process and facilitate the extension of the central government's authority to the regions.