Today's AfPak round-up:
Troops to leave Afghanistan by 2014, says leaked statement. A draft statement by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, to be released at an international summit taking place in Kabul later this week, says NATO will begin handing over responsibility for security to Afghan forces by the end of 2010, and that this transition will be complete by 2014, the Independent reports. The document was circulated to participants in the summit, including the United States, for their final agreement by Stefan de Mistra, the UN's top civilian official in Afghanistan. [Independent]
Clinton prods Pakistan on terror ties. After announcing a massive increase in U.S. aid, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on the Pakistan government to take more action against terrorists in their country, reiterating her belief that Osama bin Laden is still hiding within its borders. She did, however, voice guarded support for Pakistan-led peace negotiations with the Haqqani network, one of the leading insurgent groups in Afghanistan. [NYT]
VIDEO: Afghan army leads new offensive. Operation Omid Do ("Hope Two") is one of the first operations entirely planned and arranged by the Afghan National Army. The operation, being fought by 500 British-trained Afghan soldiers in Helmand province, began last week with Afghan soldiers moving through villages and clearing the ground of IEDs. Omid Do, if successful may help rehabilitate the Afghan army's reputation after reports that its soldiers take bribes, use drugs while working, and work on behalf of the Taliban. [Channel 4]
Channel 4's Nick Patton Walsh, embedded with British forces in Afghanistan, reports on the Afghan army's shortcomings:
Taliban leader tells fighters to kill "collaborators." A new directive, reportedly issued to Taliban field commanders by Afghan Taliban head Mullah Mohamed Omar, calls on insurgents to capture and kill any Afghan cooperating with foreign forces. Omar also instructs commanders to recruit anyone with access to NATO military bases, so that they can spy on foreign troops. The message, which was intercepted and released by NATO, indicates the Taliban have officially abandoned the "code of conduct" its leaders issued to the international media last year, which urges fighters to avoid harming civilians. [Al Jazeera English]