OTTAWA, Sept 19: Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay and his Australian counterpart Alexander Downer have said that they have “encouraged Pakistan government” to stop the cross-border movement of Taliban fighters.
“It’s a tall order,” said Mr MacKay, noting that Pakistan seems to be struggling to meet that challenge.
The Australian foreign minister is currently visiting Canada. He held a detailed meeting with Mr MacKay on Monday and said afterwards that Canada should keep its troops in Afghanistan. “I believe, inspite of some casualties and some very high costs ... these are values and principles worth fighting for.”
Mr MacKay said Ottawa had no intention to withdraw troops.
“Canadian troops will stay in Afghanistan as long as it takes to rebuild the war-torn country and establish democracy there,” he told a news conference.
He said there was an extensive list of conditions that should be met in Afghanistan — including the return of refugees — before Canadian soldiers returned home.
“We want to leave Afghanistan when those things are achieved in a meaningful way,” he said.
Earlier, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in a television interview said his government would keep the country’s troops in Afghanistan till the success of the mission.
“The exit strategy is a success. There will be no other conditions under which his government will leave Afghanistan,” the prime minister told CTV News.
