JALALABAD - The next three years would be crucial to the fate of five Afghan generations, the Security Transition Commission chairman said on Sunday. Dr. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai told a meeting in eastern Nangarhar province the ongoing security transfer would decide the fate of the next five generations. Representatives of civil society and journalists attended the meeting in Jalalabad ahead of the security switch from International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) soldiers to Afghan forces.

"The security personnel will be equipped and core national interests promoted over the next three years," he said, asserting Afghan forces' ability to take the security responsibility for Behsud, Surkhrod, Kama and Khewa districts and Jalalabad, the provincial capital, during the current month. By mid-April the second phase of the security transition would be completed, the ex-finance minister added.

"The main objective behind my trip is to know the problems and achievements of these areas and report them to the president." While identifying joblessness as a basic problem, he said the country had been dependent on international aid over the past 10 years.

Nangarhar could meet the food requirement of the entire country if its agriculture sector was given due attention, Dr. Ghani believed, stressing an end to reliance on foreign assistance. On behalf of civil society organizations, Dr. Khushal Tasal and Najibullah Sahibzada and Abdul Mueed Hashmi, Pajhwok's reporter, briefed him on problems, including kidnappings, warlordism, land grab, corruption and challenges to journalists.