AFGHANISTAN - Dec. 22 - Declaration Of Non-Aggression Signed.

Foreign ministers and representatives of six neighbouring countries - Pakistan, China, Iran, Tadjikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan - come to Kabul and sign a declaration of non-aggression. Pres. Karzai pledges that Kabul will never allow itself to be used for any aggression against another country. But underlining the main purpose of the meeting, he says he hopes that they all have learned from their mistakes and will follow the right course from now on. He says: "We need to strengthen our bonds of brotherhood and friendship, and work for a region that is free of terror, extremism and backwardness. Afghanistan for its part will never allow its territory, or bilateral relations with other nations, to harm another country, and we expect the same". In the Kabul Declaration on Good Neighbourly Relations, the six countries, and their host, commit themselves to the principles of "territorial integrity, mutual respect and non-interference in each other's internal affairs". The declaration says: "Afghanistan should enjoy security, stability, prosperity, territorial integrity, democracy, and human rights after so many years of conflict, suffering and deprivation". They also sign up to a shared determination to defeat terrorism, extremism and narcotics trafficking. For Kabul the pledge from its neighbours is a vitally important one. (In the last 20 years it has suffered foreign occupation by the Soviet Army, and factional fighting fuelled by neighbouring countries, in particular Pakistan and Iran. The Taliban subsequently rose to power with the large-scale backing of Pakistan and allowed the country to be taken over by foreign fighters and Al Qaida).

Foreign Ministry chief spokesman Omar Samad said: "Afghanistan has been a victim of all kinds of interference and it is in our interest, and that of our neighbours, to leave that behind. This was to reiterate that a year after the Taliban collapsed, Afghanistan has left that behind, along with all kinds of interference, and is entering a new phase that could benefit all of us". FM Abdullah Abdullah spoke optimistically of the new relationships the government was forging with its neighbours since Sept. 11. But the UN special representative Lakhdar Brahimi warned that it was only a beginning and that it must be part of a strengthening trend. Samad said it was crucial that the UN, and representatives from the US, Russia, Japan and most European countries, were present for the meeting to send a strong signal to the country's neighbours that they should respect its independence and sovereignty. Samad said: "The important thing is to get them to understand that the international community is serious about this. Somehow we have to make this country safe".

Iranian FM Kamal Kharazi and Uzbek FM Abdulaziz Komilov pulled out of the conference at the last minute, both citing technical reasons to do with their flights to Kabul. Nevertheless, representatives signed on their behalf. The Iranian Ambassador confirmed Tehran's support for Kabul's new direction at a news conference after the signing of the declaration. Pakistani FM Mian Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri firmly rebutted a question that Islamabad was hosting Taliban remnants on its soil, or that it would interfere in Afghanistan in the future. Yet this week, as Karzai celebrates the one-year anniversary of taking power as head of the first temporary administration, there have been daily explosions and attacks around the country, a reminder that Taliban supporters or other opponents of his government remain active. A bomb planted at the roadside exploded in the southern city of Kandahar in the morning on Dec. 22, killing an Afghan soldier and wounding three others, one seriously, as they passed by in their pick-up. The men were heading out to the US base outside the city for a training session, said Kandahar's police chief Mohammad Akram Khakrezwal.