LONDON, March 25: Britain’s incoming ambassador to Kabul told the BBC on Tuesday it was likely to maintain troops in Afghanistan for the next five years, but said there would be a civilian presence for much longer.

“I think in a few years’ time, I hope maybe five, maybe a bit more, that we will have built up the Afghan army and the Afghan police to the stage where they can take on more of the fight themselves,” Mark Sedwill told BBC radio.

“Then we will see our troops step back.” “On the civilian side, we will be there for a very long time. There’s a massive job to do,” he added, citing the need to support the Afghan government in governance, reconstruction, development and tackling the drugs trade.

He welcomed the promise of 17,000 extra US troops announced by President Barack Obama last month, saying: “We have got to take advantage of that and that’s got to make the Taliban think that they can’t win this militarily.”

Sedwill takes up the post of ambassador to Kabul in April, replacing Sherard Cowper-Coles who has been named as Britain’s special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan.—AFP
Tags: