Washington, Aug 12: US Secretary of State Colin Powell has expressed hope that the constitutional process in Afghanistan will be completed soon and elections will be held in that country next year. "It is a difficult goal to achieve," he said, speaking at a joint appearance yesterday with UN envoy to Afghanistan Lakhdar Brahimi," but, working with my colleagues, I hope we will be able to achieve it." Powell said that he is very pleased with "the progress... Made in Afghanistan" and that "we are looking at ways of accelerating our work with more resources, resources both in terms of money and other assets that we can put to the task of rebuilding the country." Brahimi said that with the support of the United States and the international community, there is reason for optimism that the people of Afghanistan eventually will be able to "stand on their own two feet." He also called for an expansion of the deployment of the international security assistance force for Afghanistan to areas outside Kabul.

Pointing out that Nato has taken over the leadership of ISAF (International Security Force for Afghanistan), Brahimi said "we are, in the united nations, very much in favour of more international support for the security of Afghanistan."

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"We would welcome a discussion on the expansion of ISAF or any other means of providing that support that i believe is necessary," he added.

Bureau Report