BONN - Three representatives of the Change and Hope Coalition, the main opposition grouping, have arrived in Germany ahead of the upcoming Bonn Conference on Afghanistan's future direction.
Former minister of foreign affairs, Mahmud Saiqal, Najib Yousafi and Sultana Pronta are in the German city to meet delegates on behalf of the coalition on the sidelines of the Dec. 5 conference.

Officials from 100 countries and representatives from 15 international organisations are to attend Monday's moot on global political, economic and military assistance to Afghanistan beyond 2014.

Heading the three-member delegation, Yousafi told Pajhwok Afghan News they would not take part in the conference, but they would meet officials of the host country and other participants.

The team met Afghan political and cultural figures, parliamentarians, opposition leaders and civil society members before reaching Bonn, where it would express the coalition's views, he said.

The conference was a positive step toward attracting international assistance, he agreed, but added they had serious concern about the Afghan government's approach to the meeting.
He alleged the Karzai administration did not consult political parties, national assembly members, civil society and private sector leaders on the agenda for the conference and the government's recommendations.

The vision of the government was limited to discussions with the international community and that was why there was no need for the opposition and other independent groups to offer their views, he remarked.

"The main objective behind our trip to Bonn is to present the alternative perspective on different aspects of the Afghanistan problem to the world and to convey the voice of the people," Yousafi explained.

He continued they would urge participants to ensure transparency in the next presidential election due in 2014, bringing changes to the electoral law and the freedom of poll commissions.

The international community should have a credible and legal partner in Afghanistan to be able to preserve the achievements of the last decade, he stressed.
The delegation had met representatives from China, the UK, Poland and some other countries, he concluded.