Afghan President Hamid Karzai dismissed suggestions that his country could descend into the same chaos as Iraq when US-led troops pull out and leave the national police and army to impose security.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai dismissed suggestions that his country could descend into the same chaos as Iraq when US-led troops pull out and leave the national police and army to impose security.

"Never, not all," Karzai told the BBC when asked whether what was happening in Iraq could happen in Afghanistan.

In an interview released on Wednesday, he said the Al-Qaeda militant group no longer had a presence in Afghanistan.

Karzai will soon step down, ending his rule, which began in 2001 when a US-led invasion ousted the Taliban regime.
The NATO combat mission in Afghanistan will end in December after 13 years of fighting the Taliban insurgency.

The next president will be under pressure to open talks to bring peace, and Karzai said he was in daily communication with the Taliban.

"There is even an exchange of letters, meetings, and desire for peace," he said.
Both candidates to succeed Karzai have vowed to sign an agreement to keep some US troops in the country after this year.

But Washington recently said 10,000 US troop would remain next year and all would be pulled out by the end of 2016.