Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai has welcomed the signing of peace deal between the United States and the Taliban, but criticized Washington for its shortcomings in Afghanistan.

“To the US government, to the US military, we say you were very heavy-handed against the Afghan people. You bombed our villages … brought immense suffering to the Afghan people,” Karzai told The Associated Press in an interview Friday in the Afghan capital of Kabul.

“To the American people our message is we are grateful for the help that you gave us in areas where there has been a lot of improvement in Afghan society, together with the rest of the international community. “We understand and respect and admire your good intentions towards us,” he said.

The deal to be signed Saturday in Qatar is to provide for the eventual withdrawal of America’s 13,000 troops, as well as for negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government and other prominent Afghan leaders.

It’s time now for Afghans to take responsibility for their future, he said.

“We must begin to put our own house in order. We must begin to sit down and talk with one another and find the best ways for our country’s future stability and prosperity,” said Karzai. “With U.S. forces leaving Afghanistan, we, the Afghan people must see it as an opportunity for us to take responsibility for our own country and to make it better and to live by our own means.”