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This is an archive article published on July 2, 2010

Karzai asks West to destroy Pakistan militant havens

His remarks came just two days after Afghanistan's national security adviser called on the West to review policy towards Pakistan.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai asked his Western allies to destroy Islamist militant sanctuaries in neighbouring Pakistan after thousands of secret US files were leaked.

“The time has come for our international allies to know that the war against terrorism is not in Afghanistan’s homes and villages,” Karzai told a news conference in the Afghan capital Kabul.

“But rather this war is in the sanctuaries,funding centres and training places of terrorism which are outside Afghanistan.

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“Whether we are able to destroy these sanctuaries or not is another question. We will try what we can… our international allies have this ability,but the question is why they are not doing it?”

His remarks came just two days after Afghanistan’s national security adviser,Rangeen Dadfar Spanta,called on the West to review policy towards Pakistan after leaked Pentagon documents pointed to Pakistani double-dealing.

Kabul has consistently accused Pakistan’s intelligence agency of supporting Taliban insurgents –including masterminding attacks against Afghan and US-led targets in the country. Islamabad denies the claims.

Kabul said information contained in documents released on whistleblowing website WikiLeaks on Sunday backed its long-held position.

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A secretive US drone war routinely targets Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked groups holed up in Pakistan’s lawless border districts with Afghanistan.

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