PESHAWAR, Oct 22: Expressing doubts about Islamabad’s Afghan policy, Prof Rasool Amin, an Afghan scholar and director of the Peshawar-based Afghanistan Study Centre, has said that Pakistan should sincerely lend support to the current peace efforts.

“Pakistan’s sincere cooperation is crucial to the success of any effort meant to restore peace to the war-torn country,” said the Afghan scholar, a supporter of the Rome Peace process.

Though he appreciated the government of Pakistan’s decision to support the US war on terrorism, he appeared apprehensive about the clarity of Islamabad’s policy on the removal of Taliban.

“President Musharraf,” said the former professor of the University of Kabul,” is an intelligent man, he saved his country and got monetary benefit by extending support to the West.”

“But I want them to be sincere, without their support and real cooperation a permanent solution to the Afghan crisis would not be possible,” said Prof Amin.

Under the given circumstances only the former King (Zahir Shah) was capable of restoring peace and giving a proper system of government to Afghanistan, ending the prolonged civil strife and infighting.

“He is the man who can give Afghanistan a legitimate government acceptable to all the regional countries,” he said.

“If you bring back warlords to head Afghanistan, it will lead to the 1992 situation. They (warlords) are pursuing the agendas of the regional countries including Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan,” said the professor.

Pakistan and Iran are in a position to destabilize Afghanistan with the help of their supported Afghan warlords, hence their cooperation to the current peace effort is a must, he added.

The people of Afghanistan have had bad experience with the warlords, especially the Taliban regime for they treated Afghans as third-rate citizens.

“A good Talib may run a mosque, but governing a state is a totally different thing. The Taliban are not capable of running the state affairs,” said Prof Amin.

He went on to say that Taliban made the world to jointly stand against them for they “did not behave responsibly” by not handing over Osama bin Laden “showing sheer disrespect to the UN and the international laws.”

He also criticized the UN, saying the international body did not handle the Afghan conflict properly.

“UN Secretary General Kofi Anan should have personally visited Rome to hold a meeting with the former King Zahir Shah in an effort to persuade him for a future role in restoring peace to Afghanistan,” he added.