'Invite Afghan Front leaders to attend NATO summit'

Washington: Asserting that no peace in Afghanistan can be achieved without participation of all ethnic groups, a key US lawmaker today urged the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, to immediately invite Afghan National Front to attend the upcoming NATO summit. The National Front is a broad collection of ethnic leaders who represent Tajiks, Uzbeks, Turkmen and Hazaras who compose 60 percent of the population of Afghanistan. [caption id=“attachment_314637” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“PTI”]  [/caption] “The National Front must be at the table when the future of their country is being discussed,” Rohrabacher wrote in a letter to the Congress. “The overly centralised Karzai government cannot endure once American troops and money is withdrawn because it lacks legitimacy. Karzai stole his last elections. We must bring in legitimate leaders, who represent the majority of Afghans, and let them take their rightful seat at the table and help decide the fate of their own country,” he said. Rohrabacher said it was the National Front, formerly known as the Northern Alliance, with assistance from the United States, who toppled the Taliban government in 2001. Rohrabacher is Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. Rep Rohrabacher was recently denied entry into Afghanistan by President Hamid Karzai, who personally reached out to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to express his objections. PTI