ABU DHABI, Jan 12 The war against Taliban militants in Afghanistan must be fought inside the country itself and not spill over into Pakistan, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Tuesday.

“The Afghan war has to be fought within Afghanistan. The challenges within Afghanistan cannot be resolved in Pakistan,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a Meeting of Special Representatives for Afghanistan and Pakistan, held in Abu Dhabi.

“The challenge that we have in Pakistan is being faced very bravely and very courageously by the people of Pakistan,” he said. “On our side of the border, Pakistan is capable of looking after the problem.”

Pakistan faces Taliban insurgents and militants who have killed over 2,900 people since July, 2007. The insurgents are fighting to impose a version of Islamic Sharia and also oppose Islamabad's alliance with the United States in the eight-year war against the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan.

In his address to the conference, Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta said both diplomatic and military methods were needed to bring stability to his country.

“We seek ... in addition to military means, peaceful solutions to our security challenge,” Mr Spanta said.

“Afghanistan is fully committed to pave the way for a return to normal life by all Afghans who are ready to surrender arms and abide by the Afghan constitution,” he said.

On the sidelines of the forum, Mr Spanta said the US troop surge in Afghanistan must be part of a broader strategy, including development and strengthening state institutions if it is to succeed.

“Political reconciliation, reintegration (of ex-fighters), capacity-building of civilian institutions, improvement of governance and structures inside Afghanistan are very important for a forward movement or for stability and peace in Afghanistan,” he said.

Egypt's Deputy Foreign Minister Wafa Baseem expressed similar sentiment.

“We do believe that military measures could be needed sometimes,” she said. “But (in) the long run, they are not the only solution, or the solution ... to a conflict, especially in Afghanistan.”

However, both Pakistan and Egypt expressed willingness to train Afghan security forces.

“We've offered to train on a fast track Afghan soldiers and Afghan policemen so that the law enforcement operations within Afghanistan improve,” Mr Qureshi said.

And Ms Baseem said Egypt already informed Afghanistan in May last year that it was ready to provide military training for Afghan officers and soldiers.

US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke told AFP that conference attendees agreed they are ready to support efforts by Afghan President Hamid Karzai to reintegrate former Taliban fighters, but are waiting for him to make a specific announcement.

Mr Holbrooke also said that previous anti-corruption efforts in Afghanistan have been “inadequate” and need to be stepped up.

“President Karzai said in his inaugural address on Nov 19 that he was going to upgrade and intensify the fight against corruption. We all have reaffirmed here again that we consider this highly important,” Mr Holbrooke said.

The one-day conference brought together delegations from about 40 countries ahead of a Jan 28 conference on Afghanistan in London to be attended by President Karzai and other international leaders.—AFP