There is an immediate need to focus on the fight against extremism, religious extremism and extremism of ideology and to put an end to the use of terrorism as state policy for this region to realise its full potential.

Visionary Hamid Karzai has the road for his country mapped and his dream of a new world painted in colours of peace and synergy.

“This region has a youthful population, an educated population, best growing economies in the world — China and India,” said Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai, asking in the same breath, “So what is preventing us from moving ahead?”

Karzai answered that question himself. “Some of us are using extremism as a necessary means of policy.” He was speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit on “ India the next global superpower?” here on Saturday.

Things will begin to improve dramatically, the Afghanistan president said, as soon as an end is put to both the use of terror as part of the state policy and its tolerance. He did not name any country or person. But that is because, by Karzai’s own admission, “I am very careful of what I say about Pakistan when I am in New Delhi and what I say about India when I am in Islamabad.” This he said in reference to a question put to him later in a different context.

He was asked about Osama bin Laden and whether he was still in Pakistan as he had once believed. He said, “If he has not run away, he must be in that region.” And then he said he is usually careful about what he says about Pakistan when in India.

The overall thrust of Karzai’s address was essentially that Afghanistan is managing with the help of the rest of the world — he calls it “cooperation of civilisations” — and that for the region to prosper, extremism and terror must be checked and rooted out on priority. Afghanistan, he said, suffered a lot because of extremism — most of it imported from outside — and because the problem was ignored, repercussions were felt as far away as in New York and the rest of the world.

“Before September 11, Afghanistan did not matter,” Karzai said, adding, “we did not have anything to buy from anyone or give anything to anyone.” And then came the wake-up call from Afghanistan.

But things have improved tremendously since the overthrow of the Taliban.

He reeled out figures to illustrate that. “Afghanistan’s trade with its neighbours stands at $2.5 billion; imports from Pakistan used to be $ 25 million, it is worth $ 1.3 billion now.”

To a question on the destroyed statues of Buddha at Bamiyan, Karzai said, “I am not able to decide whether something can be done to restore them. The originals were carved into the mountain. And that does not seem possible now.” When asked if he would agree to speak to Mullah Omar, the Taliban chief, he said he was willing to speak to anyone for the sake of peace in Afghanistan. “But people who have committed crimes against the people of Afghanistan must face a court of law,” he added.

“We are willing to speak to the Afghan Taliban,” the president said, adding, “but not to non-Afghan Taliban.” He believes that the original Taliban were simple people, who emerged as a force. “But soon, they were being used by a more clever and better-equipped lot.” And these clever people were outsiders, not Afghans. Again, he did not name any country of person.

Speaking directly about Pakistan, he said it did a lot for the people of Afghanistan — opening the country to refugees. “We are immensely grateful to them for that.” But it was also responsible for other “regrettable” things, he added, very matter-of-fact.