NATO Pledges to Fund ANDSF Until 2020

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg addressing the run-up to of NATO meeting in Brussels this afternoon stated that increase in the defense funding help funds NATO’s activities in Afghanistan. Hamid Kohistani, Killid reporter from Brussels, reported that Stoltenberg said that we have decided to continue our operation, which is to train, assist and advise Afghan security forces. He added, “The situation in Afghanistan is difficult. Taleban and other terrorist groups killed at least 100 civilian in the past few weeks. This underscores the need for NATO to continue helping Afghans; Afghan security forces have been proved capable, professional and able to cope with Taleban and different terrorist groups.” According to Kohistani, Stoltenberg said that the number of troops’ level in Afghanistan will be decided tomorrow in the meeting. Stoltenberg also reaffirmed NATO’s commitment to funding Afghan forces until at least 2020. Meanwhile Tariq Shah Bahrami, acting Afghan defence minister, is supposed to ask NATO members to exert more pressures on Pakistan to take strong action against terrorist groups operating in its soil. The US general commanding NATO forces in Afghanistan, John Nicholson, had in February told Congress he faces a “shortfall of a few thousand” troops, and warned that “we’re in a stalemate”. The United States has about 8,400 troops in Afghanistan and another 5,000 are from its NATO allies.