WASHINGTON: Pakistan has called for investment in peace efforts to counter terrorism in Afghanistan and underlined the need for an inclusive government in Kabul to ensure long-term stability in the war-battered country.
“If there is no peace in Afghanistan, there would be ungoverned spaces where terrorist groups could potentially find safe havens as before”, Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States, Asad Majeed Khan, said in an interview with ZDF, a German television broadcaster.
Khan said Pakistan had in the past cooperated with the international community in fighting terrorism and paid a heavy price in terms of the loss of life and economy but assured that it would continue its efforts to combat the menace of militancy.
Pakistan herself faces threats from terrorist groups operating on Afghanistan’s soil, he said, in a reference to the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.
“We have given a commitment to the international community that our territory would not be used against anyone and we hope that whosoever forms government in Afghanistan, will also make sure that their territory is not used against any country,” he said.
In this regard, the signals coming from Afghanistan were positive as the Taliban had started listening to the concerns raised by the international community, Khan said.
On its part, Pakistan had purged its tribal town of militant elements, he said. It has also built a fence along its border with Afghanistan to make sure terrorists don’t cross over into Pakistan’s territory, he added.
Replying to a question, Khan observed Pakistan enjoyed a close relationship both with the United States and China. In fact, Pakistan had played a role in bringing Washington and Beijing together in the 1970s, he recalled.
“Afghanistan is one place where we would want to see the international community work as a partner so that it becomes an arena for cooperation rather than confrontation,” Khan said.
He pointed out the extended troika — China, Russia, United States and Pakistan — had issued a unanimous declaration recognising the fact that conflict and instability in Afghanistan was not in any country’s interest.
The ambassador said Pakistan was closely monitoring the situation in Afghanistan and right now was focused on helping evacuate members of the international community stranded there.
“I think right now what is really important is to make sure that things don’t fall in Afghanistan and that the crisis does not turn to a humanitarian catastrophe and that all the key players and stakeholders are talking to each other and work towards an inclusive, all-embracing government where all Afghan ethnicities are represented,” he stressed.
