Afghan official: Joint panel agrees to boost Afghan security forces to 400,000 within 5 years
By APWednesday, January 20, 2010
Panel sets goal of 400,000 Afghan forces in 5 yrs
KABUL — Afghanistan’s finance minister says a joint panel has agreed to boost the number of Afghan security forces from the current level of about 191,000 to 400,000 within five years.
The announcement came Wednesday after a meeting of Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board to finalize a government action plan to be presented at a Jan. 28 international conference in London to shore up the Afghan leadership.
The panel includes Afghan government representatives and officials from the U.N. and major troop contributing countries.
Finance Minister Finance Omar Zakhilwal says the government is calling for 240,000 Afghan soldiers and 160,000 national police to be ready in three to five years. That’s up from about 94,000 Afghan police officers and 97,000 soldiers now.
