Former president Hamid Karzai in a press conference on Monday said the Afghan security forces should not be used for “politics” and “private goals.”

“Our security forces should be completely neutral and serve their nation,” Karzai said, presumably referring to allegations of Afghan forces interfering in the election recount process in the provinces.

He also urged the Afghan government and Afghan forces to defend freedom of speech and people’s rights in the country.

“The threats have increased against those who support the US peace talks with the Taliban,” Karzai said, adding that “Wahid Muzhda (political analyst) is the latest victim. We did not agree on everything, but we accepted his views and respected them.”

“We said that we want peace, but not at the price of sacrificing achievements that we gained over the past 18 years,” Karzai said. “Freedom of speech is one of the achievements that we are talking about.”

In this episode of the program, host Wahid Ahmadi discusess the topic with Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman for President Ghani, and Jafar Mahdawi, leader of the Mellat Party of Afghanistan.