The PM says that unrest in Afghanistan is the result of using a military solution by the United States instead of a political one.
TASHKENT: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-July 16th, 2021) Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday said that blaming Pakistan for unrest like situation in Afghanistan in ‘unfair’. He also asked Afghanistan to consider Pakistan a “partner of peace” rather blaming it for the ongoing unrest.
He said unrest was the result of using a military solution by the United States instead of a political one.
“Blaming Pakistan for what is happening in Afghanistan is extremely unfair,” said the PM, adding that peace in Afghanistan was their foremost priority. He expressed these words in response to the speech of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at the conference on “Central and South Asia Regional Connectivity, challenges and opportunities’ held at Congress Centre.
PM also rejected the assertions of President Ghani made against Pakistan for “not supporting peace”. He categorically stated that Pakistan did not want turmoil in its neighbourhood because peace was in its own interest.
Imran Khan said: “Mr Ghani, I want to make it clear to you that Pakistan will be the last country to think about supporting turmoil and unrest in Afghanistan,”. He said that Pakistan would continue to support reconciliation in Afghanistan and urged the Afghan stakeholders and the international community to gear up efforts for a “politically negotiated settlement.
He mentioned that due to the decades-long conflict in Afghanistan, Pakistan suffered heavily in terms of its 70,000 casualties besides facing huge economic instability.
He said the country wanted peace in its neighbourhood to ensure completion of development projects for the betterment of the entire region as Pakistan’s economy was recovering following a difficult phase.
Khan said that Pakistan had made every effort for peace in Afghanistan, including bringing the Taliban to the dialogue table. However, he said the right time to engage the Taliban in negotiations was way before the pullout of US troops from Afghanistan.
He asked : “Why would the Taliban listen to Pakistan at a time when they are gaining victory after the withdrawal of troops,” pointing out that the US always insisted on a military solution to the Afghan conflict.
He state that there were already three million Afghan refugees in Pakistan and did not have the capacity to bear another influx of refugees in the wake of further turmoil.
He also said that in his yesterday’s meeting with President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, he discussed the ways how the neighbouring countries of Central Asia could support peace and stability in Afghanistan for the region’s prosperity.
Another challenge to regional development was the “unsettled disputes” in South Asia, including the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir, he added.
The PM said that unsettled disputes between Pakistan and India remained a challenge with Kashmir as the main issue, adding that unfortunately because of such a situation, the huge potential of regional development remained untapped.
PM said that Pakistan believed in regional connectivity by promoting land and sea linkages among the countries to boost economic activity.
He added that Pakistan’s Gwadar seaport had the potential to cater to the needs of Central Asia and South Asia as a regional transportation hub.
The China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), he said, would prove a harbinger of development and prosperity for the region, benefitting the two regions.
The conference gathered the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani, the foreign ministers and high representatives of the countries of Central and South Asia, and the heads of international and regional organizations and global financial institutions.
The main objective of the forum is to strengthen historically close and friendly ties, trust and good-neighborliness between the states of Central and South Asia in the interests of all peoples and countries of both regions.
The forum participants discussed the possibilities of promoting initiatives aimed at developing trade, economic, transport, communication and cultural and humanitarian cooperation in the context of further deepening regional connectivity during the plenary and the breakout sessions.
