PESHAWAR, May 23: Federal Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani has asked the Karzai government to refrain from levelling baseless charges against Pakistan and asked Kabul to put its own house in order.
Speaking at ‘Meet the Press’ programme at the Peshawar Press Club on Tuesday, Mr Durrani said it would be better for the Karzai government to stop issuing statements against Pakistan, which had been trying its best for restoring peace to the war-torn country.
A politically strong Afghanistan was in favour of Pakistan, he said and added: “We can install barbed wires along the Durand Line and send back Afghan refugees. But will not use refugees as a weapon against the Karzai government, because we respect human beings.”
He said the Afghan government had failed in destroying poppy crop, smuggling of contrabands and weapons to Pakistan.
Mr Durrani said people living on both sides of the border were of the same blood line and bound in centuries old religious, cultural and social ties. He said Pakistan had always preferred to solve disputes through peaceful process means and it would certainly opt to solve all disputes on the same pattern.
He said provocative statements by Afghan ministers and diplomats might affect the brotherly relations between the two countries. He hoped that President Hamid Karzai would take necessary steps and save the situation from getting worse.
Referring to the change of guards at the NWFP Governor’s House, he said Lt-Gen (retired) Ali Mohammad Jan Orakzai would play an effective role in bringing normalcy to tribal areas, where armed forces were engaged in an operation clean-up against foreign terrorist.
He said former governor Khalilur Rehman would resume his new job at the Prime Minister’s House in Islamabad.
The minister said Mr Orakzai himself hailed from the tribal belt and would solve the problems amicably.
Commenting on the Charter of Democracy, the minister said it was not workable. He said the compilers of the document would have to make nine amendments for its execution. He said PPP and PML-N had not taken ARD component parties into confidence before signing the charter.
Replying to a question, he said after the revision of the National Finance Commission, the NWFP would get Rs6 to Rs10 billion additional from the federal resources.