Experts at a roundtable discussion on Afghanistan on Monday said Pakistan’s primary and legitimate expectation from the Taliban regime in Kabul was that Afghan territory should not be allowed to be used against Pakistan.
Pakistan’s rightful demand from Kabul not to allow Afghan soil to be used against it: Experts
ISLAMABAD, Aug 31 (APP): Experts at a roundtable discussion on Afghanistan on Monday said Pakistan’s primary and legitimate expectation from the Taliban regime in Kabul was that Afghan territory should not be allowed to be used against Pakistan.
The roundtable, organized by the Institute of Regional Studies (IRS) in collaboration with the South Asia Times (SAT), discussed Pakistan-Afghanistan relations, security concerns and the evolving regional situation, said a press release.
They noted that, since Pakistan’s inception, its foreign policy towards Afghanistan had been one of cautious friendliness, with the expectation that Afghanistan would respect Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and not allow its soil to be used against Pakistan in any way or form.
They said Pakistan had demonstrated extraordinary restraint in the face of a continuing wave of terrorist attacks in the country that were planned and coordinated from Afghan territory.
The participants urged the Taliban regime to respond positively to Pakistan’s genuine security concerns and take effective measures against terrorist elements operating from Afghan soil.
While noting that violence could not be the solution to every problem, they stressed that Pakistan should engage with Afghanistan from a position of strength and should not allow instability created by elements sheltered by the Taliban regime to spill over into Pakistan’s border regions.
They emphasized the need for a meaningful and consultative process to resolve outstanding issues between the two countries, particularly the issue of greatest concern to Pakistan terrorism.
The experts said improved relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan were in the best interests of the people of both countries. They expressed particular concern over the dire humanitarian situation in Afghanistan under the Taliban regime, where three-quarters of the population was living in poverty. Notwithstanding the claims of the Taliban government, the participants urged it to pay particular attention to the plight of the Afghan population, especially women, rather than supporting or providing space to terrorist groups that threaten Pakistan.
Some participants urged greater nuance to policies towards Afghanistan so that policy affecting the people of Afghanistan is distinguished from policy directed at the Taliban regime in Kabul, which itself had come to power through the use of force against the will of the Afghan people.
The participants of the roundtable included Ambassador Jauhar Saleem, President IRS; Senator Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, former adviser to the KP government; Ambassador Abrar Hussain, Pakistan’s former Ambassador to Afghanistan;
Israr Madani, President, International Research Council for Religious Affairs (IRCRA); Dr. Iftikhar Firdous, Editor, The Khorasan Diary; Abdullah Khan, Managing Director, Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS); Salman Javed, CEO, SAT; Aarish U. Khan, Lead Afghanistan Program, IRS; and Dr. Shabana Fayyaz, Professor, Department of Strategic Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad.
