ISLAMABAD: Afghans be allowed to form government of their choice
By Ahmad Hasan Alvi
ISLAMABAD, Nov 14: The Pakistan-Afghanistan Solidarity Conference on Wednesday called for giving a chance to the Afghan people to form a government according to the will of the people and represented by every linguistic and ethnic group.
The conference, organized by Millat Party in Islamabad and attended by notable Afghan leaders, adopted a declaration calling upon the Afghans to end factional fighting and kick off a political process to restore peace in that war-ravaged country.
Afghan leaders who attended the conference included Muhammad Zaman Muzammil (Hizb-i-Islami), Maulvi Muhammad Saeed Hashmi (Harkat-i-Inqilab Islami), Maulvi Muhammad Ismail (Jamiate Islam-Rabbani), Haji Fareed (Hizbe Islami), Hafizullah Mohsini, Razai and Hidayat (Harkat-i-Islami-Mohsini), Haji Jamil, Nasrullah, Haji Salai, Siddiqullah Mujaddadi and Asadullah Falahi (Nijaat-i-Milli-Mujaddadi), Salahuddin Hikmatyar (Hizb-i- Islami-Hikmatyar) and Dr Ubaidullah, Aziz Ahmed, Abdul Karim Khurram (National Front-Pir Gilani) and other Afghan scholars and intellectuals.
Representatives of Pakistan Muslim League, Pakhtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam and Human Rights Commission of Pakistan also attended the conference, which was presided over by former president and Millat Party chief Farooq Leghari.
The declaration said that the entire world and the United Nations must use their resources for the rehabilitation process in Afghanistan so that poverty, ignorance, ethnicity and deprivation could be eliminated and the country could be developed.
The conference also condemned terrorism, “in all its forms”, whether committed by a person, group or a country.
“We feel it is the need of the hour that for uprooting terrorism it is necessary to eliminate the reasons, which give birth to the terrorism and terrorism must be defined in detail as well,” the declaration said.
It said that the soils of Pakistan and Afghanistan should never be used against each other and the two nations should stand shoulder-to- shoulder and respect and protect each other’s liberty and interests.
The declaration said that conducive conditions should also be created for an early return of Afghan refugees with honour and dignity.
Speaking at the conference, former president Farooq Leghari said that time had come for the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan to act together and call for an end to the bombings and strikes in Afghanistan.
“It is time that the people of Afghanistan be provided with the choice of peace, of the right to live, to order their lives in accordance with the great humanitarian principles of Islam,” he said. “War must end and peace and order must be given a chance.”
He said that with a growing political power vacuum emerging throughout Afghanistan, the need for a political transitional government was even more stronger now.
“If the United Nations does not immediately come up with a consensus political plan, fully backed by an effective UN military force composed of Muslim troops, there is a grave danger that Afghanistan’s different ethnic groups would slide into a bloody conflict unleashing further untold misery for the Afghan peoples’ and threatening the integrity of Afghanistan,” Mr Leghari said.
The former president also called upon the Western governments to correct their image of Islam, which so far had been portrayed by the Western media as a religion which promotes terrorism.
“We believe it is important for world civilizations that confrontation must give way to dialogue and to understanding,” he said. “Muslims and non-Muslims alike would then fully comprehend the message of God contained in the Quran — the message of tolerance, of peace and of justice,” he added.
PPI ADDS: Speaking at the conference Pushtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mehmud Khan Achakzai stressed that foreign interference in the internal affairs of Afghanistan should be ended to ensure unity of the war-torn state.
The Pushtoon nationalist leader stressed that Kabul should be declared an open city for all the Afghan ethnic groups and the whole world.
The former parliamentarian reiterated that the United Nations should play an immediate effective role to help Afghans in convening Loya Jirga and formation of their broad-based government comprising multi-ethnic groups particularly Pushtoons and steer their country out of the ongoing crisis.
Going back to the history, he reminded that non-Pushtoon government could not continue for a long time in Afghanistan. Achakzai made it clear that there was no best option available except asking ex-King Zahir Shah to play “a fatherly figure” role to lead the interim setup.
He was critical of the policies of the Pakistan government and stressed that before talking about a representative setup for Afghans. “We must ensure elections in Pakistan and power should be transferred to a civilian elected government as military has nothing to do with politics, he pointed out.
He said that a permanent solution of the crisis is only possible with the formation of the broad-based government. He said nobody can rule Kabul alone adding defeat of Taliban has proved the fact beyond any doubt.
