Kabul: US Secretary of State John Kerry met again on Tuesday with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, a day after they put on a show of unity as they tried to end recent bickering over anti-American comments made by the Afghan leader.
Kerry also met today at the American Embassy in Kabul with participants in a US-backed women’s entrepreneurship program.
He heard a succession of concerns from businesswomen fearful of what the 2014 transition will mean for not only for women and girls but for Afghanistan’s commerce in general.
Many advocates for women’s rights worry that the departure of international troops will lead to a deterioration in conditions for women, who were denied basic rights such as education under Taliban rule.
“After the transition happens, we are hoping for the same attention” as we get now, said Hassina Syed, who runs catering, construction and transportation firms.
With the transition approaching “there is a lot of negative effect on the business sector,” she told Kerry.
Kerry also spoke with civic leaders preparing for Afghanistan’s 2014 elections, telling them he wanted to pay the “respects of everybody in America for the journey that you are on and for the great contribution you’re making to your country and the efforts you’re making to develop this democracy.” “You’re engaged in a remarkable effort and the whole world is watching,” Kerry said.
Kerry arrived on Monday in Kabul amid concerns that Karzai may be jeopardizing progress in the war against extremism with his rhetoric.
Karzai infuriated US officials earlier this month by accusing Washington of colluding with Taliban insurgents to keep Afghanistan weak even as the Obama administration pressed ahead with plans to hand off security responsibility to Afghan forces and end NATO’s combat mission by the end of next year. (AP)