Hamid Karzai delivered a speech on 10 May at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. According to the text of the speech, obtained by RFE/RL, Karzai thanked the Europeans for their support and asked for a pledge of long-term aid for Afghanistan.

Referring to this week's commemorations of the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, Karzai said Europe rebuilt itself after the war thanks to a "long-term commitment" from its allies, and that Afghanistan is now in similar need of such help. Pointing to the recent Human Development Report on Afghanistan published by the United Nations Development Program, Karzai said that his country's social development indicators are "still dismal."

On a positive note, Karzai pointed to the success of Afghanistan's disarmament program, under which more "than 50,000 former combatants have been disarmed, and over 95 percent of the heavy weaponry has been [secured]." Karzai also said that his country enjoys a free press and that there are more than 300 "independent papers, more than 30 radio and four independent TV stations."

. . .While U.S. Wants to See Taliban Leader Face Justice

Speaking in Strasbourg on 10 May, Hamid Karzai confirmed that the amnesty offered to most former Taliban members also extends to Mullah Mohammad Omar and other top leaders of the ousted regime, RFE/RL reported.

"The offer [of amnesty] is there to all," Karzai said, adding that those "who are part of Al-Qaeda, those who are part of terrorism," will not accept the offer "because there is no place for them" in Afghanistan. Since 2003, Karzai's stated amnesty offer covered most former members of the Taliban, but not those "whose hands are covered with the blood of the nation.".

Karzai's new stance is in line with the announcement made on 9 May by Sebghatullah Mojaddedi, the head of the Independent National Commission for Peace in Afghanistan, who alleged that Kabul's "policies change day by day."