15:10/18:03:2010

UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon has said the events in the next three months, including a Peace Jirga, Kabul conference and elections, can prove crucial for the real sovereignty of Afghanistan . "If well managed, these events could form the structure of a transition to greater Afghan leadership. The focus of this transition is on making Afghan sovereignty real," the UN chief said in his latest quarterly report to the Security Council. The report, dated March 10, was made available to the press today on the eve of a crucial discussion of the UN Security Council on the issue. "There is no sovereignty without capacity and responsibility, and the purpose of the transition is to ensure that the Government of Afghanistan has both sufficient capacity and sufficient responsibility to exercise actual sovereignty."

Expressing concern over deterioration of the security situation in the country, Ban said the events and processes in the next three months must be managed in such a way as to ensure that they reinforce, rather than undermine, one another. President Karzai is expected to hold a Peace Jirga in April to recall on the Taliban to lay down their arms. Based on the agreement of London Conference in January, Karzai will offer money and land to the Taliban foot-soldiers who renounce violence.

The UN secretary-general said achieving the transition to sovereignty would also require a balance between military and civilian efforts in Afghanistan . Ban demanded that as many civilian tasks as possible must be handed over to Afghan institutions -- an effort to help build the capacity of the Karzai government. The comments come as NATO-led forces have begun a series of military operations in the volatile southern Afghan region to push back the Taliban from their strongholds.

The top US commander in Afghanistan , Gen Stanley McChrystal, has said an operation has recently begun to secure roads and drive the Taliban out of the areas surrounding Kandahar City . The offensive is said to be the next step of last month's Helmand assault, codenamed as Operation Moshtarak.