On his maiden visit to Afghanistan, Anders Fogh Rasmussen repeated a pledge he made on his first working day in his job as NATO secretary general: to make Afghanistan his highest priority.

"Afghanistan is the first country I'm visiting in my new capacity as secretary general of NATO," he said at a joint press conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul on Wednesday.

"I give very high priority to Afghanistan; actually it will be my highest priority as secretary general," Rasmussen added.

He vowed that troops from the western military alliance would do their utmost to provide "the best possible security" for the August 20 presidential election.

"I assure you, the Afghan people, that we will stay to support you for as long as it takes to finish our job," he said in a bid to reassure Afghans in the run-up to the polls.

First-hand appraisal

Over 64,000 of some 100,000 international troops deployed from 42 countries are serving in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. NATO troops operate alongside a US-led coalition.

NATO officials say their aim is to help stabilize a country suffering from three decades of war, resurgent Islamists, poverty and corruption.

Rasmussen aims to assess first-hand the fight against an escalating Taliban-led insurgency.

During the visit, which comes just two weeks ahead of nationwide elections, Rasmussen was also due to hold talks with some of the other candidates for the presidency.

Although Karzai leads a field of some 40 people standing for the top job, he has been widely criticized for avoiding the public campaign trail and deciding instead to carve out alliances with powerful but often corrupt political kingmakers.

Appeal to the Taliban

At Wednesday's press conference, Karzai called on the Taliban and Hezbi Islami, an associate group of the Taliban, to renounce violence and participate in the elections.

"We will request the Taliban to have the Afghan national interest in their hearts and minds and come and participate in the elections and, through voting, bring stability for Afghanistan," Karzai said.

"After elections, if I win, my first priority will be solidifying and speeding the peace process with the Taliban and Hezbi Islami, and all other groups who are not part of al-Qaeda or other terrorist networks," he added.

The worsening security and high casualties on the side of international troops have forced several NATO and non-NATO countries to call for talks with Taliban militants, who, despite the ouster of their regime some eight years ago, are still a force to be reckoned with.

Rasmussen’s comments reflected that view. "I am ready to take pragmatic steps that can include the security for our troops and even talks with a number of groups within the Afghan society," he said.

However, he was at pains to clarify that a prerequisite for such an engagement was that the groups “put down their weapons and abide by the laws in this country."

Securing Taliban strongholds

With campaigning for the presidential and provincial council elections in full swing, NATO forces are pressing ahead with operations designed to secure Taliban strongholds in a last bid to allow voting to take place in restive areas.

"Our troops will do their utmost to ensure the best possible security around the elections," Rasmussen said, adding: "It is an opportunity for the Afghan people to demonstrate that you do not bow to threats and violence of the enemies of Afghanistan."

The election is Afghanistan's only second-ever democratic poll after the extremist Taliban regime was ousted back in 2001.

The Taliban, who ruled Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001, have managed to orchestrate an insurgency that has escalated to record levels. The intensification is putting a huge strain on US and NATO-led forces that have grown to number more than 100,000.

There are concerns that violence will overshadow the elections, deter Afghans from going out to vote, and undermine the credibility of a poll that is being seen as a test of an internationally-funded drive to install democracy.

Bundeswehr troops in ISAF

Last month, officials in Berlin confirmed that Germany's military, the Bundeswehr, was engaged in its largest-ever offensive against the Taliban. This was in response to increased Taliban attacks in the north of the country, where most of Germany’s 3,700 troops are stationed.

The latest deployment involved some 300 members of the Bundeswehr's Quick Reaction Force and, for the first time, included armored units fighting with close air support.

German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung justified the offensive, saying: "We are now being particularly challenged in Kunduz." However, Jung insisted on calling the operation a "stabilization deployment” ahead of the elections.

Not an exit strategy

The former Danish prime minister took charge of the 28-nation NATO on Monday, pledging to make Afghanistan his top priority and prevent the war-torn country from once again becoming a hub of international terrorism.

Rasmussen, who has a four-year mandate, said the long-term goal was to "move forward concretely and visibly with transferring lead security responsibility in Afghanistan to the Afghans."

"I believe, during my term, Afghans must take over lead responsibility for security in most of their country," he said.

However, he rejected any suggestion that such a strategy amounted to a cut and run strategy as pure propaganda.

"Let me be clear. NATO must and will be there in support. Let no Taliban propaganda try to sell my message as a run for (the) exit. It is not," he said.

While Rasmussen’s comments were aimed at reassuring Afghans, his visit has come at an awkward time, with residents in the southern province of Kandahar saying that a NATO bomb attack had killed four civilians, including three children.

Afghan people have become increasingly vocal about their anger over the growing number of civilian casualties as a result of operations by NATO and the US-led coalition.

rb/dpa/AFP

Editor: Susan Houlton