Afghan President Hamid Karzai says the US fights in Afghanistan with the intention of gaining access to the country’s underground resources

Afghan President Hamid Karzai says the US fights in Afghanistan with the intention of gaining access to the country’s underground resources, adding that Washington's so-called war on terror is not real.

“Americans have asked Afghans to give them Afghanistan's mining contracts, and I said 'Bring your contracts'... Lots of mines are hidden in Helmand and from the start they have been doing their investigations and finishing their photography. But now they understand that we know about them,” Hamid Karzai said in a Tuesday speech during an official visit to southern Helmand province.

The president went on to say that the US-led foreign forces’ so-called anti-terror war in Afghanistan is not a real one and that the Americans fight for their own interests in the country.

Karzai once again slammed US double standards for holding secret talks with Taliban militants in certain Persian Gulf states and Europe.

“Both Taliban and Americans drink tea and eat chocolate together, but they come and attack civilians in Afghanistan,” Karzai noted.

Karzai had earlier accused Washington of holding unilateral talks with the Taliban militant group, saying that there are “ongoing daily talks between Taliban, American and foreigners in Europe and in the (Persian) Gulf states.”