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BONN (AFP) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai has accused Pakistan, which is boycotting Monday's international conference on Afghanistan, of undermining all negotiations with the Taliban.
"Up until now, they have sadly refused to back efforts for negotiations with the Taliban," Karzai told Der Spiegel weekly in comments reported Sunday.
The Bonn meeting seeks to chart a course for Afghanistan after NATO's 2014 withdrawal, but Pakistan's boycott has dealt a blow to already fragile hopes for a roadmap.
Pakistan is considered vital to any prospect of stability in the war-ravaged country a decade after US-led forces ousted the Taliban, who had offered safe haven to Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
But Islamabad pulled out after 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed in cross-border NATO air strikes a week ago, though sources close to the German foreign ministry say Pakistan officials would be kept informed of progress at the conference.
The United States has voiced regret over the strikes but has stopped short of issuing an apology while the American military conducts an investigation.
Islamabad has so far refused to take part in the probe, exacerbating fears of a prolonged crisis between Pakistan and the United States.
Pakistan, reacting to fury over the attack, shut down NATO's vital supply line into Afghanistan and boycotted the Bonn conference.
US President Barack Obama on Sunday called Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari to express his regrets over the "tragic loss", saying the NATO air strikes were not intentional.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had earlier called Pakistan's prime minister to offer condolences over the strike.
In the call with Yousuf Raza Gilani, Clinton "reiterated America's respect for Pakistan's sovereignty and commitment to working together in pursuit of shared objectives on the basis of mutual interest and mutual respect", the US State Department said.
A statement from Gilani's office said he told Clinton that Pakistan's non-attendance at Bonn was not open to review since it had received the backing of parliament's national security committee.
It added that parliament was also assessing the broader relationship with Washington, although it remains unclear to what extent the government or the military will force through substantial changes.
Pakistan is dependent on billions of dollars in US aid.
Senator John McCain, a leading Republican lawmaker said Sunday that the US should link its military aid to Pakistan's cooperation on security, saying that Pakistani intelligence continues to support an anti-US militant group.
"This is a fog of war situation. Investigation is going on," McCain said on CNN's State of the Union programme, referring to the NATO air strikes.
"But also the fact is that the ISI, the intelligence arm of the Pakistani army, is still supporting the Haqqani network which is killing Americans. That is unacceptable," he said.
"So I would gauge our aid, particularly military aid ... directly related to the degree of cooperation they show us," he said.
The Bonn conference comes a decade after Germany staged another international meeting on political transition following the fall of the Taliban.
Diplomats had hoped the conference would help broker peace with the Taliban, but the September assassination of Kabul peace envoy Burhanuddin Rabbani derailed those efforts and contacts are said to have achieved little.
Karzai also appealed for continued aid for his nation after 2014, when the last NATO combat troops are due to pull out after handing over responsibility for security to Afghan forces.
Stressing that Afghanistan will be "more than ever on the frontline," he said: "If we fail in this war, which threatens all of us, it will mean a return to the situation before 9/11."
The Afghan leader conceded that "sadly we have not been able to provide security and stability to all Afghans -- this is our greatest failure."
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday lamented Pakistan's boycott of the conference, while also promising Kabul the international community's long-term support.
"It would have been better if Pakistan (had) been there," Ban said.
Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rasoul appealed Saturday for international support for his country after NATO troops withdraw.
"After 2014, we will continue to need long-term support from our friends in the international community," Rasoul said at a discussion forum in Bonn.
His German counterpart Guido Westerwelle vowed at the forum that the world would not abandon Afghanistan.
Karzai accuses Pakistan of stalling talks with Taliban - Yahoo!7
"Up until now, they have sadly refused to back efforts for negotiations with the Taliban," Karzai told Der Spiegel weekly in comments reported Sunday.
The Bonn meeting seeks to chart a course for Afghanistan after NATO's 2014 withdrawal, but Pakistan's boycott has dealt a blow to already fragile hopes for a roadmap.
Pakistan is considered vital to any prospect of stability in the war-ravaged country a decade after US-led forces ousted the Taliban, who had offered safe haven to Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
But Islamabad pulled out after 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed in cross-border NATO air strikes a week ago, though sources close to the German foreign ministry say Pakistan officials would be kept informed of progress at the conference.
The United States has voiced regret over the strikes but has stopped short of issuing an apology while the American military conducts an investigation.
Islamabad has so far refused to take part in the probe, exacerbating fears of a prolonged crisis between Pakistan and the United States.
Pakistan, reacting to fury over the attack, shut down NATO's vital supply line into Afghanistan and boycotted the Bonn conference.
US President Barack Obama on Sunday called Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari to express his regrets over the "tragic loss", saying the NATO air strikes were not intentional.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had earlier called Pakistan's prime minister to offer condolences over the strike.
In the call with Yousuf Raza Gilani, Clinton "reiterated America's respect for Pakistan's sovereignty and commitment to working together in pursuit of shared objectives on the basis of mutual interest and mutual respect", the US State Department said.
A statement from Gilani's office said he told Clinton that Pakistan's non-attendance at Bonn was not open to review since it had received the backing of parliament's national security committee.
It added that parliament was also assessing the broader relationship with Washington, although it remains unclear to what extent the government or the military will force through substantial changes.
Pakistan is dependent on billions of dollars in US aid.
Senator John McCain, a leading Republican lawmaker said Sunday that the US should link its military aid to Pakistan's cooperation on security, saying that Pakistani intelligence continues to support an anti-US militant group.
"This is a fog of war situation. Investigation is going on," McCain said on CNN's State of the Union programme, referring to the NATO air strikes.
"But also the fact is that the ISI, the intelligence arm of the Pakistani army, is still supporting the Haqqani network which is killing Americans. That is unacceptable," he said.
"So I would gauge our aid, particularly military aid ... directly related to the degree of cooperation they show us," he said.
The Bonn conference comes a decade after Germany staged another international meeting on political transition following the fall of the Taliban.
Diplomats had hoped the conference would help broker peace with the Taliban, but the September assassination of Kabul peace envoy Burhanuddin Rabbani derailed those efforts and contacts are said to have achieved little.
Karzai also appealed for continued aid for his nation after 2014, when the last NATO combat troops are due to pull out after handing over responsibility for security to Afghan forces.
Stressing that Afghanistan will be "more than ever on the frontline," he said: "If we fail in this war, which threatens all of us, it will mean a return to the situation before 9/11."
The Afghan leader conceded that "sadly we have not been able to provide security and stability to all Afghans -- this is our greatest failure."
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday lamented Pakistan's boycott of the conference, while also promising Kabul the international community's long-term support.
"It would have been better if Pakistan (had) been there," Ban said.
Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rasoul appealed Saturday for international support for his country after NATO troops withdraw.
"After 2014, we will continue to need long-term support from our friends in the international community," Rasoul said at a discussion forum in Bonn.
His German counterpart Guido Westerwelle vowed at the forum that the world would not abandon Afghanistan.
Karzai accuses Pakistan of stalling talks with Taliban - Yahoo!7
