David Cameron has admitted Taliban terrorists are trying to 'wait it out' until Nato troops have left Afghanistan to plunge the country into further chaos.

In a message to the insurgents, the Prime Minister pledged that British troops would continue to support Afghan forces against the enemy, even after they are pulled out of combat in 2014.

Mr Cameron was speaking at a press conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai at his palace in Kabul today.

The pair also signed an agreement to set up an academy where British officers train senior Afghan military chiefs, dubbed 'Sandhurst in the Sand'.

Mr Cameron stressed that even after Britain's 9,500 troops are pulled out of Afghanistan, they would continue to train, fund and equip the Afghan National Army.

He said: 'This sends a very clear message to the Taliban: You cannot wait this out until foreign forces leave in 2014 because we will be firm friends and supporters long beyond that.'

He added: 'While we will no longer be fighting alongside the Afghan forces, we will continue to support them.'

Mr Cameron also called for insurgents to renounce violence.

Talks with Taliban dissidents have stalled in recent months - partly blamed on the Afghan president's reluctance - but Mr Cameron said fighters had laid down their weapons and come off the battlefield.

He also admitted: 'The security challenges in Afghanistan will not end in 2014, they will continue.' President Karzai said he wanted to 'salute the sacrifice' of British forces and thanked Mr Cameron for the establishment of the training academy.

He also revealed he was likely to accept an invitation from the Prime Minister to come to London for the Olympics 'if there is room'.

The pair also held talks earlier today with the new Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf.

Mr Cameron initiated the ground-breaking meeting in the hope it would signify the importance he places on the 'Af-Pak' strategy.

The meeting was also a rare chance for the Prime Minister to tackle both leaders over dealing with the insurgent threat on their borders.

Prime Minister Ashraf was controversially installed after his predecessor, Yousuf Raza Gillani, was recently disqualified from office.

Mr Cameron said that Afghanistan and Pakistan were being attacked by the same terrorists and called for the countries to work together to tackle them.

Leaders also signed an agreement to set up an Afghan officer training initiative, known as Sandhurst in the Sand.

The training academy, which will see the British military pass on high level skills to the Afghan army, has already been agreed in principle but progress on getting it off the ground is expected to be made after the talks.

Supply routes from Pakistan to Afghanistan have also recently been reopened.

Today is the final day of Mr Cameron's surprise two day visit to the country.

He used the trip to try to boost the morale of troops who have been hit by cuts to the military.

Officers returning from the region have also had their holidays canceled as they have been ordered to step in as security guards at the Olympics.

Despite all sides delivering an upbeat message on the prowess of the new Afghan National Army, privately, military chiefs have grave misgivings about their readiness.

Senior sources argued the UK should maintain a 'strong presence' to ensure Afghanistan did not descend into chaos.

American military commanders also claimed that senior chiefs were lying by glossing over the problems with the local armed forces and police.

One source said the only things the Afghan Army were good at were 'green on blue attacks' - a reference to the Afghan turncoats killing the international forces who had trained them.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2175846/Taliban-waiting-regain-control-Afghanistan-troops-withdraw-2014-Cameron-warns.html