ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has categorically said Pakistan will no longer fight others’ war and those who had been asking Pakistan to “do more” now want us to mediate between the Afghan warlords and the US-backed Afghan government.

“We need peace in Afghanistan but Pakistan will not fight others’ war [in the neighbouring country],” the prime minister said while addressing a group of students, hailing from Balochistan, at PM Office on Friday.

He said a wrong impression had been created by the country’s leadership in the past that Pakistan would be harmed if it did not fight someone else’s war in Afghanistan.

Pakistan being urged to play the role of mediator, PM tells students from Balochistan

Referring to the oft-repeated “do more” demand, he said Pakistan was asked to fight their [US] war in Afghanistan. “I have been saying for past many years that war is no solution to Afghanistan’s problem and now it has also been realised by the US,” he added. He held the US authorities and Afghan government responsible for failing to restore peace and stability across Afgha­nistan. “More than 40 per cent areas in Afghanistan are not under the control of the Afghan government,” he added.

The prime minister earlier in a tweet had asked the US government to reassess causes of their failures in Afghanistan instead of passing the blame on to Pakistan. “Instead of making Pakistan a scapegoat for their failures, the US should do a serious assessment of why, despite 140,000 Nato troops plus 250,000 Afghan troops & reportedly $1 trillion spent on war in Afghanistan, the Taliban today are stronger than before,” he had tweeted.

Pakistan joined the US-led war in Afghanistan in 2001 and paid a heavy price as mentioned by the prime minister on many occasions. However, the present government has taken a firm stance that the country will watch its own interests and not become a part of the US-led war in the neighbouring country.

Water situation

In a separate meeting, the prime minister was briefed by federal Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda and Water and Power Development Authority chairman retired lieutenant general Muzammil Hussain about water crisis and the measures being taken to overcome water shortage in the country. Mr Khan was also apprised of ongoing work on the construction of major dams and water-related projects.

Mr Khan appreciated the efforts being made by the water ministry and Wapda for addressing the looming water crisis in the country.

Published in Dawn, December 8th, 2018