Editorial: Afghanistan's international reputation on the up

When President Hamed Karzai took part in the extraordinary session of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference in Mecca, participants and hosts alike realised that Afghanistan is now ruled by a 47-year-old man who is highly educated, well-informed and extremely articulate. He is not only in charge of his country, but he is also advising other Muslim nation to unite, to encourage their young people to acquire scientific and other knowledge, and to give one another technical and financial help so that they can develop and eventually reach the stage where they are competing with developed countries. Afghanistan is a now a fully-fledged nation, with an elected president who outshines a number of his peers when he appears in his green chapan and Karakul hat and speaks fluently. President Karzai seldom uses notes when he makes a speech, but at the formal gathering where every leader spoke his own language, he read out his prepared speech in his mother tongue, Pashtu. Our president was officially invited by his Iranian counterpart to visit Tehran in the near future, an invitation he accepted with thanks. In short, all Muslim countries can make progress if the men at the helm are patriotic and untainted, and if all their citizens express their love of country through their dedication. But the final goal cannot be achieved without modern education. That was why Karzai placed so much stress on learning when he made his remarkable speech.