NATO endorses transition plan in Afghanistan

NATO's defence ministers meeting is held at NATO headquarters in Brussels, capital of Belgium on March 11, 2011. NATO's defence ministers gathered Friday to discuss security force transition in Afghanistan. NATO will start the transition process in Afghanistan in the first half of 2011. (Xinhua/Wu Wei)

BRUSSELS, March 11 (Xinhua) -- NATO has endorsed a transition plan that lists the first batch of provinces and districts to be turned over to Afghan control, the alliance's chief said Friday.

"Ministers from all 48 nations contributing troops to the ISAF mission have today taken a crucial step in this critical mission. They have endorsed the recommendations of the joint Afghan-NATO transition board for the first set of areas to be transferred to Afghan lead," Anders Fogh Rasmussen said a press conference.

NATO's 28 defense ministers, together with their counterparts from 20 other nations participating in ISAF, met Friday at NATO headquarters to discuss the transition in Afghanistan, which is seen as a crucial step for NATO troops to start withdrawals.

The NATO chief declined to give details about the transition plan, which is set to be approved by the Afghan government and unveiled by the Afghan President Hamid Karzai on March 21 (the Afghan New Year).

Diplomats and officials have said that six areas, including the provincial capitals of Lashkar Gah, Herat and Mazar-i-Sharif, provinces of Bamiyan, Panshir and Kabul except for the Surobi district, are on the transition list.

There are currently around 145,000 U.S. and NATO troops deployed in Afghanistan. The number of Afghan soldiers and police are expected to reach 305,000 by October.

Under mounting domestic pressure, NATO countries are eager to pull their troops out of Afghanitan and want to complete the transition process in Afghanistan by the end of 2014.