ISLAMABAD, May 22: Pakistan on Monday declared that the conflict in Afghanistan was indigenous which should be addressed politically through national reconciliation.
Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam told a weekly news briefing that the situation in Afghanistan could only be addressed through a political process. She said this was the purpose of the Bonn Agreement which Pakistan fully supported and facilitated in its implementation.
The spokesperson stressed that the international community had to help strengthen the political process and said there was need to step up national reconciliation and encourage all segments of the Afghan society to participate in the process and create harmony.
Responding to repeated finger-pointing at Pakistan by the Afghan leadership for violence in that country, the spokesperson said these accusations only demonstrated frustration at not being able to address the internal security situation.
“Pakistan desires a stable Afghanistan, which is of vital importance to Pakistan,” she said and cautioned that blaming Islamabad would help no one. “The Afghan government’s failure to deal with the situation cannot be placed at Pakistan’s door. Pakistan has itself been a victim of the conflict in Afghanistan for over a quarter of a century.”
The spokesperson pointed out that ‘responsible observers’ also believed that the ongoing conflict was due to the weakness of Afghan institutions and not because of Pakistan. She later told a questioner that these observers included a very senior US official.
Pakistan, she said, was also suffering the consequences of infiltration by terrorist elements from Afghan side and asserted: “Elements hostile to Pakistan are using Afghan territory with impunity to carry out terrorist acts on our territory.”
Rejecting allegations that infiltration by remnants of Taliban was taking place from Pakistan, she said Taliban were operating inside Afghanistan. Apart from Taliban, she added, the war-lords continued to wield influence and problems of drugs and gun-running had become an issue for neighbours.
The FO spokesperson pointed out that for interdicting such acts Pakistan had made various suggestions.
