News
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Ready to do ‘whatever you want’, Karzai told
* Gilani says Pakistan wants a stable, peaceful, sovereign Afghanistan
* Karzai says both countries need to work harder to remove radicals and terrorist sanctuaries
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan pledged on Saturday to help Afghanistan end a 10-year Taliban insurgency, expressing its commitment to an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned process of reconciliation for sustainable peace in the region.
“Pakistan is ready to support whatever support they want ... it is in the interest of Pakistan to have a stable, peaceful, prosperous, independent and sovereign Afghanistan,” said Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani while addressing a joint news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
“Our aim is to support the peace process which is Afghan-led and it is (an) Afghan process for reconciliation,” said Gilani. The premier said that Pakistan wanted a stable, peaceful, prosperous, independent and sovereign Afghanistan, saying that Islamabad was ready to provide “whatever support they want” in the Afghan-led peace process.
“We have discussed in detail the peace process, with all stakeholders and certainly what happened in our capacity is a readiness,” said Gilani.
The two leaders affirmed their resolve to work closely for reconciliation and peace “in a holistic and comprehensive manner”. They earlier held a one-one-one and delegation-level talks that focussed on the transition phase with the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan from July.
Gilani and President Karzai also inaugurated the Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Commission for Reconciliation and Peace in Afghanistan, which was also attended by Barhanuddin Rabbani, chairman of the Afghan High Peace Council. The next meeting of the joint commission will be held in Kabul. Terming the talks as “useful and constructive”, Gilani said the dialogue focussed on a number of issues, including stability, peace, prosperity and development in Afghanistan and the wider region.
“We discussed the common challenges as well as the opportunities. We agreed that there was no substitute to mutual cooperation if these challenges were to be overcome or these opportunities seized,” he said. Gilani said it was high time for Pakistan and Afghanistan to make joint efforts to counter-terrorism and radicalism. “Terrorism and militancy have held progress of our two countries hostage for years. It is necessary to confront these evils through a joint strategy,” he said. President Karzai termed his visit as “very important” and a step towards further enhancing the Pak-Afghan relations. “Afghanistan and Pakistan have moved many steps forward in their tremendous efforts for regional peace,” he said.
He hoped that the Pak-Afghan Joint Commission would prove a milestone in achieving the goals of peace in both the countries. He said the sub-committee of the commission would meet monthly while its plenary session would take place in October.
Gilani said Pakistan fully supported the efforts of Afghan High Peace Council and its chairman for promoting peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan. Replying to a question about the withdrawal of US and ISAF forces from his country, Karzai said Afghanistan was aware of the withdrawal schedule. The US troops would complete their transit plan by 2014 when the Afghan forces would take over the full responsibility of protecting their territory. However, he added, some US troops would stay in Afghanistan beyond 2014 and a proposal in that regard was being discussed between the two countries.
“The facts are so bare and the wound is so clear and hurting that it requires both of us to work diligently and extremely aggressively and effectively to curb terrorism and radicalism in the region,” Karzai said.
Asked about swarms of terrorists attacking Pakistani troops close to the Afghan border, Karzai said the attacks were “all the more reason for us to work harder to remove radicals from both countries and to remove sanctuaries”.
Gilani refused to be drawn on whether the Haqqani network could be brought to the negotiating table to help end the Afghan conflict. “We have offered whatever the Afghan government wants from the Pakistan side. We are ready to facilitate,” he said.
Karzai said regional forums like SAARC, ECO and SCO were very important for regional development and prosperity. In another effort to improve ties, a much delayed transit trade agreement between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which was signed last year, is due to come into effect on Sunday. agenciesCourtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk