November 14, 2001	Wednesday	Shaba’an 27, 1422

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ISLAMABAD, Nov 13: Pakistan on Tuesday called for deployment of peace-keeping forces in Kabul for establishing a demilitarized zone till the formation of a broad-based and multi-ethnic government in Afghanistan.

“Past experiences have demonstrated that no single group or faction can bring peace to that country,” Foreign Office Spokesman Aziz Khan said at his daily press briefing in comments on reports of fall of Kabul.

He reiterated Pakistan’s stand that the Northern Alliance should not take over Kabul and hoped that “calm would prevail and bloodshed would be avoided.”

Pending the establishment of a broad-based government in Afghanistan, peace-keeping or multi-national forces under the control of the United Nations should be deployed in Kabul to declare it a demilitarized city, he said.

Urging the United Nations and Six-plus-Two group to redouble their efforts for setting up a broad-based and multi-ethnic government in Afghanistan, the spokesman said a broad-based government acceptable to all Afghans would be the best guarantee for peace in Afghanistan, and its unity and territorial integrity.

In reply to a question whether the capture of Kabul by the Northern Alliance was not a betrayal of an understanding given to Pakistan by the United States, the spokesman said the situation was “fluid” and they would have to closely watch these developments, and would reach definite determination at a later stage.

When asked whether Pakistan would encourage “moderate” Taliban to join the broad-based government, he said Pakistan would encourage all those Afghans who would like to join peace process under the umbrella of the United Nations.

As regards the Taliban embassy in Islamabad, the spokesman said that no alternative government had been established in Kabul yet, adding that they would take the decision as and when the situation was cleared.

About the delay in the establishment of a broad-based government, he said the situation in Afghanistan was “very complicated” and the goal for creation a broad-based political dispensation had been pursued by the United Nations and the Six-plus-Two group for the past many years.

A foreign correspondent pointed out that the Northern Alliance had claimed that they had been encouraged by the United States to take over Kabul, and asked whether there was any double game on the part of the coalition.

The spokesman said that the Northern Alliance was pitched against the Taliban and they had made some gains in the war. Pakistan’s position, he maintained, remained the same that Kabul should not be taken over by any particular group as it would not bring peace.

About contacts with the Northern Alliance, he said Pakistan had contacts with all Afghan groups, including some leaders of the Northern Alliance, in the past and it would not hesitate to develop these in future.