08 February 2004	Sunday	16 Zilhaj 1424

KABUL, Feb 7: Afghan President Hamid Karzai welcomed on Saturday offers by Nato alliance countries to send more peacekeepers to Afghanistan in the coming months.

The expansion of the International Security Assistance Force from the capital, Kabul, is "very, very important" for both security and reconstruction, Mr Karzai said.

"So we value whatever decision they take in this regard," he told reporters on the steps of his Kabul palace.

President Karzai and the United Nations have long been calling for the Nato-led peacekeepers to fan out across the country in time for national elections slated for June.

On Friday, Nato governments offered to muster hundreds of troops for five more peacekeeping teams for the Afghan mission. But it was unclear whether they would arrive before the vote.

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said it was "realistic" that five such teams of 80 to 300 soldiers could be in place by June.-Agencies