Washington, Mar. 19 : British Defense Minister John Hutton has said that the key to success in the `War on terror' in Afghanistan lies in rooting out the command and control centers of Al-Qaeda and other extremist groups operating from Pakistan.

Talking to media persons before meeting with US Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, Hutton said: "The Taliban and al-Qaeda have got to know there is no safe haven."

Warsaw - Poland plans to strengthen its mission in Afghanistan and create a new "strategic reserve" force ready for deployment there at anytime, Defence Minister Bogdan Klich said on Wednesday.

The government could boost Poland's contingent in Afghanistan in April or May, Klich said, and is already working on a proposal for the president. Klich said it will be discussed how many troops will be added, with the president having the final word.

Kabul - President Hamid Karzai said Wednesday that Afghanistan was no puppet state and warned the international community to stay away from its internal affairs as the country faces a political crisis due to a postponement of presidential polls.

"The Afghan nation is now the owner of its soil and no one can interfere in that," Karzai told reporters in a joint press conference with visiting NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.

Kabul - NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said Wednesday that restrictions on troop deployment by some European nations hinder the alliance in Afghanistan.

During a three-day visit to the country, Sheffer admitted that he had been unable to convince some NATO countries to relax restrictions on troop movements.

Kabul  - Three civilians were wounded Wednesday in a blast triggered by a roadside bomb in Kabul as NATO's highest-level decision-making body, led by its secretary general, was ending a visit to the war-torn country.

The explosion took place near an oil pump station in Kota Sangi, an area in western Kabul after a convoy of NATO forces had passed the area.

Kabul - The remains of former Afghan president Mohammad Daud Khan, killed in a Soviet-backed coup over three decades ago, were reburied in Kabul on Tuesday.

President Hamid Karzai, members of Afghan cabinet, MPs and family members paid their respects as Khan's remains were placed in coffin in a ceremony held in the fortified presidential compound where he and 16 members of family were killed in 1978.