European Union's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana reiterated Europe's commitment to "the long haul" in Afghanistan during a visit to Kabul.

In a joint press availability with President Karzai following their meeting, Mr. Solana said the European Union was dedicated to the reconstruction of Afghanistan and its assistance would continue until Afghanistan could reach to stability, peace and prosperity.

"I can tell you on behalf of the European Union -- all the countries of the European Union -- that we will continue to be working with the government, working with the people of Afghanistan for the long haul," Mr. Solana added that "We, the people in Europe, will continue to be helping the people of Afghanistan to get what they deserve, the stability, prosperity and peace," he added.

Solana praised the progress that Afghanistan has made in the past several years since the fall of the Taliban, saying "tremendous efforts have been done in education. The tremendous effort ... done in health is something that we take into great consideration."

Calling the NATO summit in Bucharest as a conference of great importance to Afghanistan, Mr. Solana said the international conference in June in Paris would be another opportunity for the international community to evaluate the progress and challenges Afghanistan is facing and make future decisions accordingly.

"This is the moment to reflect on what we, the international community, can do, working in conjunction with our Afghan partners, to enhance our efforts," he said of the up-coming conference.

Speaking at the same press conference, President Karzai thanked the European Union and said that it was the second biggest donor for Afghanistan in helping security, governance and reconstruction.

In response to a question about the ban on Indian soap operas on private TVs, the President said that certain TV serials were decided by our Council of Religious Scholars and some of our citizens to be stopped and it was purely a cultural issue and had nothing to do with the relationship with India. The President continued, “like the rest of the countries in the world, we want our television broadcasting to be in line with our culture, based on our society moral standards.”

In answer to another question about Taliban’s call on UN, EU and other human rights organizations to intervene to avoid the execution of people by the government of Afghanistan, the President said, “Where there is a clear Shariah ruling, Afghanistan’s government and people – based on Islamic rulings – are committed and will do it,” . However, he said that executing criminals was against his “own nature”.

“Secondly the suffering of our people, the bloodshed and the grief imposed on our people prompts me to act very slowly in this regard and not to allow death sentences be signed easily,” the President continued.