Karzai says he excuses Prince Harry’s comments about Taliban

PanARMENIAN.Net - Afghan President Hamid Karzai has excused comments made by Prince Harry about fighting Taliban members while serving in Afghanistan, according to BBC News.

The prince was accused of "crass" comments about taking Taliban fighters "out of the game".

President Karzai told ITV News and the Guardian: "Young men do make mistakes talking."

Meanwhile, it has been announced the prince will visit Lesotho and South Africa for his charity, Sentebale.

Prince Harry, an Apache helicopter co-pilot gunner, arrived back from his second tour Afghanistan less than two weeks ago, having completed a 20-week deployment.

President Karzai is in the UK for talks with Prime Minister David Cameron and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari aimed at securing closer ties between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

When asked about Prince Harry's comments, the president said: "Well, as I said, he's a young man, and young men do make mistakes talking, while behaving. All of us have gone through that period, so let's drop it there. Prince Harry is a young man, we do give exits to young men when they make mistakes."

Prince Harry will leave at the end of February for the three-day trip to South Africa. He set up the Sentebale charity to support orphans and vulnerable children in Lesotho. The 28-year-old last visited Lesotho in 2010 when he took his brother, the Duke of Cambridge, to see Sentebale's work. His trip will begin with two days of private visits to Sentebale programs around Lesotho.