French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said that France would withdraw its 1000 troops from Afghanistan by the end of next year. President Sarkozy reached Kabul yesterday on an unscheduled visit to Afghanistan. In a joint press conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai he announced withdrawal of a quarter of the 4,000 French troops by the end of 2012. France has lost 64 soldiers in the Afghan war since it joined the Nato-led mission in the country. Just before the joint press conference President Hamid Karzai got the news of the assassination of his step brother Ahmad Wali Karzai in Kandhar by one his own body guard. Head of Kandhar Provincial Council Ahmad Wali Karzai was a powerful leader of the Province. Kandhar is one of the seven places whose responsibility is likely to be handed over to Afghan Security forces in the first phase of security transition.After US President Barack Obama announced his plan to pull out of 33,000 US troops from Afghanistan by the end of next year, France and some other NATO allies have also prepared their draw down plan.Though President Karzai has said that Afghan forces are capable of defending their country, but they would have to address the security concerns and prove their ability by putting an end to such incidents.