UNITED NATIONS, Dec 6: Reaffirming its full and unequivocal support for the Bonn process and President Hamid Karzai’s government, Pakistan on Friday said “the time has come to stop the blame game and to address the real security threats which remain inside Afghanistan.”
Addressing the UN General Assembly on the situation in Afghanistan, Pakistani delegate Syed Safwanullah said that instead of seeking to shift the blame for the insecurity, “serious decisions must be taken, starting with the demilitarization of Kabul.”
“There can be no successful disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of all the armed factions as long it is perceived that the capital remains under the control of some warlords and factions in defiance of the Bonn Agreement,” he asserted.
Mr Safwanullah, who is federal minister for works and housing, said there was no country which wanted peace and stability in Afghanistan more than Pakistan, and no country stood to suffer more from instability in Afghanistan than Pakistan.
Pakistan, he said, stood by its commitment to fight the terrorist threat in Afghanistan. “At the same time, let me affirm that Pakistan will not tolerate the use of Afghan soil by third parties to carry out terrorist attacks against the immediate neighbours of Afghanistan.”
He pointed out that Afghanistan’s worsening security situation had been comprehensively analyzed in the report of the recent Security Council Mission to that country.
“As identified in the report, the main factors contributing to deterioration in Afghanistan’s security situation are: the activities of the Taliban and other extremists; the arbitrary control exercised by local commanders and warlords; and the illicit drug production and trafficking.
Among the key recommendations proposed in the report are: the withdrawal of all factional forces from Kabul in accordance with the provisions of the Bonn Agreement; reforms in the Afghan National Army, police, ministry of defence and intelligence services; and the initiation of a process of national reconciliation directed at all Afghans willing to help rebuild the country.
“These are the essential prerequisites for reversing the alarming security situation in Afghanistan,” said Mr Safwanullah, stressing: “We, therefore, value the signing in Doha of the Trade, Transit and Investment Declaration as a continuation of the Kabul Declaration.
“Pakistan would also like to see a greater integration of Afghanistan into regional economic cooperation structures. In this regard, we strongly support the gas pipeline project connecting Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. We also welcome all other initiatives aimed at economically integrating Afghanistan with its neighbours.”
He declared that Pakistan would not allow any group or entity to use its soil for acts of terrorism in Afghanistan. “Given our role in the ouster of the Taliban after the tragic events of Sept 11, 2001, Pakistan will not like to see their revival and return to power in Afghanistan.”
Underscoring that Pakistan had deployed 70,000 troops along its 2,500km-long border with Afghanistan, Mr Safwanullah noted that Islamabad had formed and deployed an elite rapid reaction force, set up a system of greater intelligence gathering, erected a 30km-long fence in key areas and installed searchlights in various places.
“Our troops have orders to kill suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda infiltrators or ex-infiltrators on sight. We are carrying out our anti-terrorism operations at great human, material and political costs. We have thus far conducted over 150 such operations and have captured over 500 Al Qaeda and Taliban elements. We have lost 25 soldiers and policemen in this process. No other country has achieved so many successes against Al Qaeda and Taliban remnants, and with very few exceptions, no other country has paid so high a price.”
Mr Safwanullah hoped that the millions of Afghan refugees, who continued to be in Pakistan and Iran, would not be excluded from the electoral process under way in Afghanistan.