March 1, 2003	Saturday	Zul Hijjah 27, 1423

WASHINGTON, Feb 28: Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Thursday he had received assurances in meetings with top officials that the United States will not allow war with Iraq to erode financial and military support of his fledgling democracy.

“We have received assurances that ... Iraq will not reduce attention to Afghanistan or the amount of help given to Afghanistan,” Mr Karzai said at a Pentagon news conference.

Mr Karzai spent his visit to Washington soliciting top officials including President George W. Bush backing for programmes in irrigation, power, and reconstruction of dams and canal system.

He also asked for support for an Afghan Reconstruction Trust Fund, more support for the Afghan National Army — which numbers 3,000 — and overall stability operations.

The United States has spent nearly $550 million on Afghan reconstruction. Afghanistan has received a total of $1.9 billion in foreign aid so far.