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Wednesday, June 15, 2011
No political solution in Afghanistan without Pakistan: AckermannBERLIN: Political solution is of paramount importance for Afghanistan and this political solution cannot be achieved without the support of Pakistan.
This was stated by head of the Task Force for Afghanistan and Pakistan at Federal Foreign Office of Germany, Philipp Ackermann, on Tuesday.
Talking to a Pakistani delegation, comprising officials from the Ministry of Water and Power and Finance, CEO Independent Project Development Facility (IPDF) Adil Anwar, President National Forum and Managing Editor Energy Update Naeem Qureshi, Chairman Renewable Energy Society (Research), Dr Allah Nawaz Qaiserani and Secretary General Iftekhar Qaiserani at the German capital on Tuesday, he said, “We think that we cannot find solution to the Afghan issue without Pakistan. Similarly, we feel that political solution is paramount for Afghanistan issue as we feel that military solution is not feasible.”
The delegation is on a weeklong visit to Germany on the invitation of the German Foreign Office to discuss alternative energy issues in Germany and opportunities for Pakistan. Ackermann said that 5,000 German soldiers were engaged in Afghanistan and this is for the first time they were outside the European continent. “German people were against sending their troops to Afghanistan,” he added. Ackermann said that every ally in the war against terrorism was of the opinion now that political solution was the only solution to the Afghan imbroglio and this political solution must involve Pakistan. “Pakistan is working in a very constructive way in this regard,” he noted.
He pointed out that the German government was keen in this regard and had held meetings with the Pakistani authorities, including Prime Minister Gilani, General Kiyani and Hina Rabani Khar to explore possibilities for Afghan solution.
Referring to the German efforts for solution to the Afghan problem, he pointed out that 90 foreign ministers would attend the Bonn Conference this year in December, which, he said, was being held after 10 years. “Chaired by President Hamid Karzai, the conference will have a regional approach to address the Afghan issue,” he hoped. Ackermann was of the view that Pakistan was an important country in the region and it had enormous potential and talent for growth and development.
Talking of recent developments in Pakistan, head of the task force said that Germany was closely observing these developments. “We feel the government has made a courageous efforts and adopted 18th Amendment and continues reconciliation efforts,” he said, adding, “However, we seek more efforts on reforms agenda particularly, energy, education and infrastructure development.” He said Germany wanted that Pakistan and India should continue the process of composite dialogues to improve understanding and cooperation, as “We feel that this is the most promising approach to regional stability.”
Earlier, head of cultural media relations Africa, Asia, Australia and Pacific and Latin America and Latin America Michael Siebert said that Pakistan had a lot of potential for growth. “Germany and Pakistan can cooperate in alternate energy and climate change,” he added. pr
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk