Pakistan has decided to launch an international diplomatic campaign to seek support after fresh U.S. allegations that it harbors terrorists fueling Afghan insurgency.
A national security council meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and attended by the country’s army leaders on President Donald Trump’s new Afghan war and South Asia policy, rejected the allegations that the country giving refuge to militants, while categorically stating that the Afghan war cannot be fought in Pakistan.
Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif will visit China, where he will consult the Chinese leadership and present Pakistan’s perspective on the matter.
Asif will also keep his commitment to US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to visit Washington and discuss the US’s new South Asia policy. That visit will now take place after Asif concludes a visit to Beijing.
Islamabad’s first detailed response to President Trump’s policy asked the US to work with Pakistan with a focus on “core issues like the elimination of safe havens inside Afghanistan, better border management, the repatriation of millions of Afghan refugees and a re-invigoration of the peace process for a political settlement in Afghanistan.”
Pakistan, Foreign Minister Asif said, “will continue to extend all possible cooperation to the international community for the objective of achieving peace and stability in Afghanistan and the broader region.”
“Pakistan’s effective counter-terrorism operations have clearly proved that tide of terrorism can be reversed and we are willing to share our experience with both the US and Afghanistan,” he said.
In Washington, U.S. officials say President Trump’s South Asia policy is comprehensive and takes into account a lot of considerations. Among other things, the policy asks India to play a greater role in economic development of Afghanistan. Washington has long blamed Pakistan for hosting the Haqqani network that directs part of the Afghan Taliban insurgency.
Analyses and reports after this week’s U.S. policy enunciation say Islamabad has been irked by the suggestion that India should take on a greater role in Afghanistan.
Here are exceprts from the Pakistani foreign minister’s statements made on Thursday .
“The committee observed that Pakistan had to manage the blow-back of a protracted conflict in Afghanistan that resulted in a deluge of refugees, flow of drugs and arms and, recently, terrorist safe havens in eastern Afghanistan.”
“The committee observed that these safe-havens harbor anti-Pakistan terrorist groups that continue to operate and launch attacks inside Pakistan. The fact remains that the complex issues and internal dynamics inside Afghanistan pose a grave challenge not only to Pakistan but to the broader region and the international community.
“While noting the US commitment to continue to shoulder the burden of Afghanistan and reverse the expanding ungoverned spaces in the country, the committee observed that Pakistan has consistently supported all international efforts for a stable and peaceful Afghanistan,” the foreign minister said.
“It was observed that Pakistan has also committed more than a billion US dollars to the infrastructural and social development in that country.”
“Over the years, Pakistan has worked with both the United States and Afghanistan to promote peace through a politically negotiated outcome which, in Pakistan’s view, remains the best option to bring stability to this war torn country.
“A prolonged military campaign in Afghanistan has resulted in destruction and the killing of hundreds of thousands of Afghan civilians; however, Pakistan has always endorsed and supported all Afghan-owned and Afghan-led initiatives for peace,” he said, defending Pakistan’s perspective on a lasting solution for the neighboring country.
“It is hoped that the strategy will pave way for the dignified return of millions of Afghan refugees residing in Pakistan for which we are willing to extend all possible cooperation.
“More specifically, we would like to see effective and immediate US military efforts to eliminate sanctuaries harboring terrorists and miscreants on the Afghan soil — including those responsible for fomenting terror in Pakistan. The Afghan war cannot be fought in Pakistan.”
“On its own part, Pakistan has taken indiscriminate actions against all terrorist networks and sacrificed tens of thousands of troops and civilians in this fight.
“The demonstrated security improvement inside Pakistan would not have been possible without eliminating all terrorist hideouts.
“Moreover, successful cooperation with the U.S. in the past against the common enemy, terrorism, reflects Pakistan’s unflinching commitment to eliminate this menace.
“The committee stressed that instead of any financial or material assistance, there should be understanding and recognition of our efforts, contributions and sacrifice of thousands of Pakistanis and over $120 b of economic losses.
“We consider the lives of the people of other countries as sacred as the lives of our own people, which is why we have not let our resources be used against our neighbors.”
“The committee has also reaffirmed Pakistan’s resolve to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
“The committee understood that as a responsible nuclear-weapon holder state Pakistan has in place a robust command and control system, which has been universally recognized and appreciated.”
