KABUL - The fourth and fifth phases of the transition process may be full of challenges, but there will be no security vacuum after 2014, when all foreign combat troops are to leave the country, a senior Afghan official said on Monday.

Dr. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, the security transition commission head, told a gathering in Kabul that Afghanistan's National Security Commission had decided to evaluate the previous phases so that all bottlenecks were removed.

Addressing a meeting, attended by the Kabul governor, district chiefs, provincial council members and civil society representatives, he said though the first, second and third phases of the security switch had problems but were executed satisfactorily.

There would be challenges in the final stages as well, acknowledged Ahmadzai, who explained the transfer process was not confined to the security sector. As a result of the process, the government in Kabul would take charge of all affairs of the country, he said.

"As we planned initially together with the international community, the well-supervised process is moving ahead in a gradual manner," the official said. "We have enough resources and the country will face no security vacuum after 2014…"

Kabul Governor Abdul Jabbar Taqwa urged the Afghans to take control of the country's affairs and avoid reliance on the global fraternity forever. "Security transition be evaluated carefully and the views of the people as well as security officials considered." (Pajhwok)