President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday blamed Pakistan for violence in his country, saying “state elements” were supporting insurgents in Afghanistan. “The problem is not the Taliban,” Karzai told reporters. “The problem is with Pakistan”, Karzai added, for the first time making such comments publicly, adding he had been negotiating with Islamabad for the “past five years”. “If you resolve the difficulties with Pakistan, the question of the Taliban will go away automatically,” he said. “The state of Pakistan was supporting the Taliban, so we presume if there’s any Taliban they are (being) supported by state elements.” Asked if he meant Pakistan’s government, the president said: “Yes, of course — everybody knows that and that’s very clear.” Karzai said he proposed a regional peace council to ask Pakistan to stop backing the Taliban.