KABUL: In his final address to Afghanistan’s parliament on Saturday, President Hamid Karzai told the US its soldiers could leave at the end of the year because his military, already protecting 93 per cent of the country, was ready to take over entirely.

He reiterated his stance that he would not sign a pact with the United States that would provide for a residual force of US troops to remain behind after the final withdrawal, unless peace could first be established.

“I want to say to all those foreign countries who perhaps out of habit or because they want to interfere, that they should not interfere,” the Afghan president remarked.

He said the war in Afghanistan was “imposed” on his nation, presumably by the 2001 invasion by US forces, and told the United States it could bring peace to Afghanistan if it went after terrorist sanctuaries and countries that supported terrorism, apparently a reference to Pakistan.

Karzai told the parliament, which was holding its opening session for this term, that security forces were strong enough to defend Afghanistan without the help of international troops.

In his speech Karzai again urged Taliban militants to join the peace process, while accusing Pakistan of protecting the Taliban leadership. He suggested that Pakistan was behind the killing of a Taliban leader who supported the peace process.

Throughout his speech Karzai spoke of what he called his accomplishments over the last 12 years, saying schools were functioning, rights were being given to women, energy projects were coming online and the Afghan currency had been stabilised.—AP