Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Wednesday he would rather hand leadership to a younger generation than seek a new term if stability returns to the war-torn Central Asian nation.
"If I could leave a legacy of stability and continuation I would like the new generation and leadership to take over," Karzai told reporters in the north Indian hill town of Shimla, where he obtained a degree 23 years ago.
Karzai, 49, has travelled to India to attend a leadership conference and made a sentimental journey to Shimla to visit his alma mater, Himachal Pradesh University, where he earned a degree in political science.
"I fell in love with the magical charms of this hill town the moment I arrived here in 1977," he said.
However, he said in his own country, continued attacks by the Taliban militia deposed in a US-led war in 2002, remained a problem.
Karzai pledged to continue to resist the Taliban.
On Wednesday, as he walked through Shimla, once the summer capital of India's British colonial rulers, dressed in his usual colourful native attire, he spoke about his struggles with the English language, which has helped him immensely later in life.
He is scheduled to fly back to New Delhi early on Friday.