Lech Kaczyński: peace in Afghanistan is possible
On Wednesday, during his one-day visit to Kabul, Lech Kaczyński announced that the amount of humanitarian aid for Afghanistan will be increased. Also, an application for increasing our military contingent in this country will soon be signed.
Lech Kaczyński met with the President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai. They discussed matters such as the military presence of Poland in Afghanistan and the recent NATO summit where a new policy for activity in Afghanistan was accepted.
Kaczyński, after a one-hour meeting with Karzai, said that Poland will send more troops to Afghanistan because Ghazni, the province our soldiers control, is becoming more and more dangerous.
He emphasized that he, after returning to Poland, will sign a governmental application for increasing our contingent. He added that he believes peace in Afghanistan is possible.
“I believe there will be peace in Afghanistan – and this will be a success of NATO,” he said. The President also announced that Poland will increase its amount of humanitarian aid for the country.
At the end of March, the government presented a motion to the President – the head of the armed forces – that the Polish contingent be increased from 1600 to 2000 soldiers. This is to be done within the next shift of soldiers which is to take place in the middle of April. On 3 April, the President returned the motion for adjustment on the grounds that the number of soldiers has been improperly defined – it was 2000 instead of 2200 (the latter number includes strategic reserves).
It is estimated that the Ghazni Province, for which Poland is responsible, will become more dangerous. This is connected with matters and events such as the presidential election in Afghanistan, scheduled for August, and the fact that the Americans have heightened their activity in the neighbouring provinces.