Afghanistan’s newly elected central government alone cannot bring justice to the country without the help of the local, informal governments, according to experts convened to discuss the country's future.

The forum called “Justice in Afghanistan” was held Wednesday at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) to discuss the informal and formal justice systems in Afghanistan and what should be done to integrate the two systems.

“There is a lot of resistance on a national level to bring all forms of Afghan government together. International donors are going to have to assist,” said Noah Coburn, a USIP staff member in Kabul.

Panelists said the new national government of President Hamid Karzai must cooperate with existing local governments to provide security and equality for the population.

Masood Karokhail, deputy director of The Liaison Office in Kabul, said that the separation of formal and informal governments has not worked in the past and needs to change.

“Taliban is very much against the existing informal government," Karakhail said. "They are trying to monopolize justice. They target community leaders and elders because they are the links to justice and the international community.”

Karokhail said Afghans will accept the government's system of justice as long as the process includes local traditions and institutions.

“There is no opposition of expansion of court and justice," he said. "Afghan people actually welcome it.”

A USIP report presented at the panel said Afghanistan's formal justice system will take years to achieve legitimacy and effective capacity. With the cooperation of the informal local governments, it said, the quality of and capacity for dispute resolution will help ensure fairness and stability.

Coburn said the top goal for Afghanistan is security and then justice. If the United States makes a quick exit from Afghanistan, he said, the Afghan government will not succeed and most likely will backtrack.

Another panelist representing the Afghan government underscored that linkage.

"Justice and security are inter-related,” Deputy Justice Minister Abdul Qader Adalat Khwa, said through a translator. “Without justice, there is no security; without security, there is no justice.”