Rangin Dadfar Spanta

NEW DELHI: Afghanistan Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta on Saturday said he hoped that Pakistan's decision to send 10,000 more troops to the border between the two countries would help in tackling the growing extremist violence.

Taking questions after addressing the Indian Council of World Affairs here, Dr. Spanta said he recently had "friendly" negotiations with his Pakistani counterpart Khurshid Kasuri.

Afghanistan had spoken "clearly and openly" about the problem of extremist violence during the negotiations. Pakistan itself was a victim of "Talibanisation," he said.

Dr. Spanta, who has been an academic and activist, said Afghanistan, as an Islamic nation, should be an active member in the comity of democratic nations. It should act as a bridge between the Islamic world and democratic nations.

`Important role'

Pointing out that India had played an "important role" in the battle against the Taliban, the new Foreign Minister said it was also one of the most generous donors in Kabul's effort to reconstruct Afghanistan.

Calling for cooperation between the two countries in new fields, Dr. Spanta said they needed to take their relations to a "higher and strategic level."

He met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday.

Asked about the deteriorating security situation in his country, Dr. Spanta said "security building" required a complex strategy. Economic and social development was a must to build security.

Stressing that Afghanistan saw itself as a "moderate Islamic country," he said 28 per cent of the seats in its Parliament were held by women.

"Four years ago women were not allowed to go alone to the market," he said, underlining the changes in post-Taliban Afghanistan.

On the recent anti-American riots in Kabul, Dr. Spanta conceded that there was a "deep discrepancy" between the ability of the government to provide services and the people's expectations.

"We also have the problem of corruption," he said, adding Afghanistan had to move towards good governance.

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