ISLAMABAD, Nov 14: Pakistan on Wednesday deplored killing of innocent people in Afghanistan and called upon the United Nations to take cognizance of human rights abuses by the Northern Alliance forces.
“Attempts should be made to maintain security in Kabul and it makes all the more necessary that a multi-national force is quickly dispatched to Kabul,” Foreign Office spokesman Aziz Khan said at the daily briefing.
Pakistan, he said, would raise the issue of human rights abuses in Afghanistan with all the coalition partners and the human rights agencies.
He said there was a unanimity of views over the establishment of a broad-based and multi-ethnic government in Afghanistan.
He pointed out that the Six-plus-Two group at its meeting had also called for the formation of a broad-based government.
The spokesmen clarified that Pakistan was demanding the deployment of multi-national forces as an administrative measure to maintain security in Kabul.
When asked to comment on reports that different commanders were taking over various provinces, he said they had been calling for initiation of political process so that a multi-ethnic, broad-based government chosen by the Afghans themselves be established in Kabul.
He feared that the current situation, if allowed to persist for long, would cause civil war or factional fighting as had happened in the past.
“This time the international community would move quickly,” the spokesman hoped, saying UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi had already presented its report to the United Nations and there were plans to hold a meeting of Afghan representatives soon to set the political process in motion.
The meeting of the Afghan representatives would be followed by the Loya Jirga to finalize the future political dispensation in Kabul, he added.
In reply to a question whether Mulla Umer or other Taliban leaders would be allowed to enter Pakistan, he said they had been maintaining as much security as possible on the borders to prevent any unauthorized crossing.
When asked whether the Northern Alliance would concede ground for the establishment of a broad-based government, he said the international community had given a firm commitment that they would work for the broad-based government. The Northern Alliance, he added, had even signed an agreement with former King Zahir Shah in this regard.
Commenting on the closure of the Afghan embassy in Islamabad, he said there had been no change in Pakistan’s position. The embassy was still functioning, he added.
On reports about the massacre of 100 Pakistanis by the forces of Northern Alliance, the spokesman said they had made every effort to prevent those people from crossing over.
He said they would have to first verify the identity of those killed in Mazar-i-Sharif.
APP adds: “We will try to tackle the situation as and when an opportunity arises after confirming whether the arrested persons are Pakistanis. If we get confirmation then we would seek counsellor access to them, but at the moment we have no such confirmation,” he said.
Commenting on reports about Afghan ambassador’s departure, the spokesman said: “I think the ambassador has left for Kandahar for some consultations.”
