KABUL (FNA) – Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai said that international military action in Afghanistan to help local forces fight the Taliban are doing more harm than good.
"Those who ask foreign forces to bomb Afghanistan are not representing the Afghan people or their interests,” said Karzai, Tolo News reported.
Karzai who was a strong opponent of U.S. airstrikes during his presidency, saying they undermined Afghan sovereignty and led to foreign "interference” in Afghan politics.
Recently Afghan forces asked the U.S. to step up airstrikes due to intense fighting against the Taliban who have regained territory. Afghan, U.S. and British forces suffered heavy casualties in Helmand in the country’s south.
"I have asked the Afghan government not to ask the U.S. for aerial bombings of our country,” Karzai said. "This is chemicals thrown on the country every day. This is killing our fields, spreading disease, and not bringing an end to the war.”
Civilians continue to suffer in Afghanistan. In July the United Nations reported that civilian casualties had hit record highs with at least 1,601 killed and 3,565 wounded in the first half of 2016.
 "If we cannot fight it ourselves, then we cannot ask a foreign force to come take it for us,” Karzai added, saying that foreign forces should leave the country and let Afghan forces fight their own battles.
In June, the Obama administration ordered an escalation in military involvement in the country, allowing U.S. forces to order more airstrikes and fight alongside government forces.
"NATO has been here for 14 years … Are we better off? Do we have more security? No,” Karzai said.