This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/south_asia/6160642.stm
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Afghan 'threat to wider region' | |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Hamid Karzai has said instability in Afghanistan is a huge threat to peace and prosperity in the wider region. | |
| At an Indian conference, the Afghan president said poor infrastructure and inconsistent policies were hampering regional economic co-operation. | |
| Mr Karzai's comments follow a warning by the UN World Food Programme that it cannot feed millions of Afghans who will depend on it during the winter. | |
| Meanwhile more than 50 people have been found dead in recent western floods. | |
| Dozens more were declared missing as a result of Thursday's flash floods around the remote town of Balamurghab in the western Badghis province. | |
| Several villages have been washed away and thousands of homes destroyed along the Murghab river, local officials said. | |
| Nato-led troops are preparing to airlift aid to the region, much of which is inaccessible by road. | |
| 'Detrimental factors' | |
| The meeting in Delhi, attended by representatives from Pakistan, Iran and several other countries, is aimed at improving Afghanistan's economy by involving its neighbours in reconstruction. | |
| But opening the conference, Mr Karzai said extremism and violence by militant groups remained a fearsome challenge five years after his government began rebuilding Afghanistan. | |
| If we do not have food on time, we cannot help those people Ebadullah EbadiWFP programme Quick guide: Afghanistan | If we do not have food on time, we cannot help those people Ebadullah EbadiWFP programme Quick guide: Afghanistan |
| "We ... recognise that Afghanistan's stability is an asset for this region whereas unstable Afghanistan will undoubtedly put the vision of a peaceful and prosperous region in serious jeopardy," he said. | |
| "Today there are a host of other factors - from fragility of security to inadequate physical infrastructure to inconsistent policies which play to the detriment to the regional economic cooperation." | |
| He added that if the economy were more developed, there would be less support for the Taleban insurgency and fewer farmers would turn to the booming opium trade. | |
| The BBC's Simon Watts says that while this conference may provide some assistance to Kabul, delegates know that the lack of security compounds all the country's problems. | |
| In an interview for the Guardian newspaper, UN Afghan mission head Tom Koenigs said Nato forces could not defeat Taleban militants on their own but would have to win people over with good governance and the help of the new Afghan army. | |
| Mr Koenigs said Nato was being "very optimistic" but urged the alliance to stop doing things on its own. | Mr Koenigs said Nato was being "very optimistic" but urged the alliance to stop doing things on its own. |
| "You have to win people over. And that is done with good governance, decent police, diplomacy with Pakistan and development," the Guardian quoted him as saying. | "You have to win people over. And that is done with good governance, decent police, diplomacy with Pakistan and development," the Guardian quoted him as saying. |
| Nato-led forces have faced fierce resistance from Taleban militants in the south of the country in recent months. | Nato-led forces have faced fierce resistance from Taleban militants in the south of the country in recent months. |
| Civilians make up a quarter of the 4,000 people killed this year in the insurgency, which has been concentrated in the areas worst affected by the drought. | Civilians make up a quarter of the 4,000 people killed this year in the insurgency, which has been concentrated in the areas worst affected by the drought. |
| 'Lives at risk' | 'Lives at risk' |
| On Friday, WFP spokesman Ebadullah Ebadi said the programme had received only a third of the funds it requested to feed more than three million Afghans this winter, and any extra money would be too late for those in need. | |
| "We are really concerned," he added. | "We are really concerned," he added. |
| "If we don't have food on time those people will be at risk, their lives will be at risk. That's the main problem of WFP. If we do not have food on time, we cannot help those people." | "If we don't have food on time those people will be at risk, their lives will be at risk. That's the main problem of WFP. If we do not have food on time, we cannot help those people." |
| He said a further three million Afghans not covered by the WFP were also threatened by food shortages, while almost two million people have been affected by drought which has wiped out much of the wheat crop in the south and west. | He said a further three million Afghans not covered by the WFP were also threatened by food shortages, while almost two million people have been affected by drought which has wiped out much of the wheat crop in the south and west. |