KABUL, Sept 7: US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Sunday voiced support for expansion of Afghanistan’s international peacekeeping force but stressed that ultimately Afghans had to take responsibility for security in their own country.

“I certainly agree that expansion of ISAF would be a good thing and I know that President Karzai and others from time to time have raised that issue with the nations that have been participating,” he told reporters during a joint press conference with President Hamid Karzai at the presidential palace in Kabul.

Rumsfeld was referring to the 5,300-strong International Security Assistance Force now under NATO command which is helping with security in the Afghan capital.

“We have encouraged it and President Karzai has encouraged it ... the fact that NATO has done what they have done and the fact that there is some discussion about some broader participation in the provincial reconstruction teams, that there is at least the possibility that we could see somewhat of an expansion,” he said during his flying visit from the Gulf.

The UN and Afghan government have repeatedly called for ISAF’s mandate to be expanded to cover the provinces where security remains a problem.

On his last visit to Afghanistan on May 1, Rumsfeld declared an end to major combat operations here.

While foreign troops were willing to help, Rumsfeld stressed that ultimately Afghans had to take responsibility for security.

“The security in Afghanistan is the responsibility of the Afghan people,” he said.

“The presence of foreign forces is a helpful thing for a period. It is an important thing for a period but it is an anomaly; it is not a natural circumstance and no country wants foreign forces in their country interminably,” he said.

Mr Rumsfeld met Mr Karzai to discuss plans for a sharp increase in US aid to strengthen his hand against warlords and the resurgence of Taliban activity.

The president said they discussed the “war on terror,” reconstruction progress and the provincial reconstruction teams (PRTs), which are a US-led civil-military project intended to help with reconstruction and security in the provinces.

“We’re grateful that the world is helping us and that the US has decided to do more on the reconstruction of Afghanistan, especially the physical reconstruction,” Mr Karzai said.

Washington is aiming to bolster Karzai’s government before Afghan presidential elections next June, and is determined he will not pay a political price for a perceived delay in the benefits of his US-backed rule reaching ordinary Afghans.—AFP