KABUL - Former US Ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad said that insurgency and chaos could increase if foreign forces withdraw before Afghanistan is ready.
Khalilzad stressed in an exclusive interview with Tolonews Monday that an early withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan would be a mistake and could strengthen international terrorism.
"Some people think that the job has been done, Al-Qaeda has been weakened and Osama Bin Laden was killed. So, it's the time to go back home," Khalilzad said.

"If the US withdraws from Afghanistan [too soon], chaos will increase, Al-Qaeda will reunite and extremism will escalate."
He said that leaders of Afghanistan around the world should think "responsibly" about their country's future; otherwise it will again be threatened by great danger.

"Afghan leadership, whether they live inside or outside of the country, should think responsibly about Afghanistan. The country is still in war, and some countries are making conspiracies about Afghanistan," the former ambassador said.

"At the moment national unity is very important. The leadership should encourage the people."
He stressed that tensions between the US and Afghanistan have disappointed some of the US citizens and politicians, leading them to losing their trust in the partnership.

He believes the last Afghan Presidential election, among other things, had strained the two countries.

"The contention between the two countries has many reasons, such as the last presidential election," Khalilzad said.

"Another reason could be the negative thoughts about each other - there are negative points said about the US in Afghanistan," he added.

He said that Afghan and US governments should work on building a mutual trust and stressed that the US should put more pressure on Pakistan to change its policy towards insurgency. (Tolo News)