October 05, 2008	Sunday	Shawwal 05, 1429

LAHORE, Oct 4: Senior politician Dr Mubashir Hasan said here on Saturday that Pakistan should use its good offices to influence Afghanistan as well as western countries to bring an end to the horrible conflict going on in Afghanistan for the past several decades as a result of which countless people have been killed.

Similarly, he said, Islamabad should also try to bring the Afghan government and Taliban leadership across the negotiating table.

Taliban leader Mullah Omar’s reported rejection of talks offer made by President Karzai should not be treated as final, he said, hoping that parleys between the two sides were still possible despite the visible bitterness.

He supported NWFP Governor Owais Ghani’s statement that the United States and its allies cannot win the war in Afghanistan through military means.

“They have lost the war. The European nations have also shown by their actions they are not ready to intensify the role of the military,” said the Punjab PPP (SB) president in a statement.

Dr Hasan said President Karzai’s talks offer to the Taliban leader showed that a breeze of peace has started blowing. “It is a great opportunity to wipe out the vestiges of war from Afghanistan.”

He said: “Pakistan should talk both to President Karzai and Mullah Omar and others to work out an acceptable scope for talks, principles for the formation of future government, a timetable for ceasefire and pullout of all foreign troops.”

A former finance minister, Dr Hasan said: “Pakistan should do all it can for the establishment of a government of the Afghans, by the Afghans and for the Afghans. The Pushtoons, the Uzbeks, the Tajiks, the Hazaras and other smaller nations and nationalities must get all their rights and liberties in any future dispensation for Afghanistan. They should also retain their traditional rights of encouraging national and international commerce through Afghanistan and that should also be the wish of Pakistan.”

In his opinion a real and lasting peace in Afghanistan would be possible only when all tribes had representation in the future government in Kabul.

“The Afghans know how to fight and they also know what peace is. Adequately compensated for the damages they would certainly opt for peace.”