Sartaj Aziz, the adviser to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on National Security and Foreign Affairs, assured the international community on Wednesday of Pakistan’s sincere desire to work with Afghanistan.
While addressing a seminar organized by the East West Institute “Afghanistan Reconnected: Linking energy suppliers to consumers in Asia”, the Adviser insisted that a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan is in Pakistan's vital national interest.
He added that the two neighbouring countries are committed to working together on various energy and connectivity projects, to strengthen trade ties under the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA).
In support of his statement, the Foreign Affairs Adviser said that Pakistan had been invited by Afghanistan to jointly invest in the Kunar Hydro Power project, which will produce 1500 megawatts of electricity to be shared between the two countries.
He added that the design and feasibility of the project had been finalized.
He also said that the two countries would pursue the finalization of the 170 kilometre Torkham-Jalalabad rail with World Bank, which will connect Peshawar with Jalalabad.
Aziz added that they were also working on the 11.5 kilometre Chaman-Spinbolduk rail, which will ultimately connect Chaman with Kandahar province.
"Our region is blessed with immense potentials in terms of natural resources, which if tapped efficiently can yield benefits to the entire region and Afghanistan occupies an important position in the region, straddling Central, West and South Asia," he declared.
He added that its ideal location allows it to connect to energy suppliers and users in its immediate neighborhood and beyond.
Building on the statement, Aziz talked about the Afghanistan, Pakistan and India gas pipeline project (TAPI)and Central Asia South Asia (CASA-1000), which are two major examples of Afghanistan acting as a "connector" in the region.
Despite limited resources and capabilities, Pakistan has been continually providing support to its neighbor in the form of contributions, majorly in the form of developments in the education, health and infrastructure sectors in Afghanistan.
"We are keen on working with Afghanistan as a conduit for energy supply," Aziz stated, in support of his statement that the prime minister had clearly underlined the government's priority in terms of energy in both long and short terms.
However, the adviser was also insistent on the need for further international support in order to help stabalise Afghanistan.
Referring to Pakistan's war-torn neighbor, Aziz said that Pakistan had been host to one of the largest refugee populations for over three decades.
He said that three million refugees still live in Pakistan, with only 1.6 million of them registered. He added that Pakistan had signed the Tripartite Agreement, extending the stay of the refugees in the country until coming December.
Finally, with regards to the impending withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan in 2014, the Adviser was of the opinion that a successful security transition between Nato troops followed by assumption of full responsiblity by the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and Afghan National Army (ANA) would go a long way to building stability, which would prepare the way for successful pursuit of more development projects.
Afghanistan has been subject to terrorism and Taliban attacks for over a decade. These have increased as Nato countries are in the process of withdrawing their 130,000 troops ahead of the 2014 deadline.
