Those in Omar's Shoes Will Be Safe, Says Karzai
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, currently visiting Estonia, said Afghans who have worked for or cooperated with coalition forces need not fear for their lives when the troops withdraw in 2014, ERR radio reported.
The issue is topical in Estonia in light of a former Estcoy interpreter's request for protection from the Estonian government. The interpreter, who has come to be identified in the Estonian media as "Omar," has claimed that the Taliban has threatened to kill him and his family when coalition forces leave the country.
But Karzai said Tuesday that Afghans in Omar's shoes will be safe in Afghanistan.
"They will be very secure in Afghanistan. If they have been translators and if they have helped as translators with the foreign forces in Afghanistan," Karzai said at a press conference. "The Taliban are not threatening the lives of translators alone. They are threatening the lives of students, of teachers, of society, of men, women, children."
Karzai has said previously that the Taliban could be a potential political partner in the future if the organization denounces its ties with Al-Qaeda.
