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Thursday, June 27, 2013
Pak-Afghan policy : ‘US serious about resolving issues with Pakistan’By Ijaz Kakakhel
ISLAMABAD: The participants at a policy discussion on ‘Afghanistan and Pakistan and Beyond: Post 2014’ was informed that the US Congress and Senate are serious aboutresolving the issues and gaps with Pakistan.
Speaking at the discussion, Pakistan Policy Institute Chairman Dr Ghulam Mujtaba said the country has suffered greatly in the war on terror and other conflicts in Afghanistan since Russian invasion. He said the international community should recognise that Pakistan deserves much more help in Afghanistan’s problems.
“Pakistan has suffered a lot at the hands of terrorism and militancy, which took the lives of over 40,000 people, and yet the bloodshed is not over, which is sheer manifestation of most sacrifices ever made by any country in this global war,” Mujtaba said.
He said the country is facing multiple problems owing to war on terror, which has stemmed from the Afghan war of 1979. “We saw the heavy influx of the Afghan refugees of which 1.6 million still reside here and of them 12,000 have proper established businesses but nobody pays a single penny as tax to national exchequer,” the PPI chairman noted. He said nobody should be spared of tax as Pakistan has already lost Rs 80 billion and the economy is in shambles.
He requested the US to support Pakistan in this precarious situation when the whole country is on the verge of instability. Mujtaba said that the unrest in the country means the deterioration and fragility of the region.
“Pakistan must be an important component and part in the reconstruction work in Afghanistan as the country has suffered a lot in this war against terror and lost 45,000 people besides economic losses,” he added
Other speakers said that Pakistan’s sacrifices should be acknowledged by the international community and observed that the country is still playing a pivotal role to ensure peace, security and development in Afghanistan and asked the international community to not ignore Pakistan at this stage when the ISAF is withdrawing from Afghanistan.
Speaking on the occasion, Pakistan Muslim League-Zia chief and MNA Muhammad Ejazul Haq said there should be clarity in the policies, especially in Pak-Afghan relations. Haq said his father, former president Ziaul Haq, very successfully influenced the international community to collectively stop the way of Russian invasion in Afghanistan so that it could not reach the ‘warm waters’ of Arabian Gulf.
He said Pakistan is important country in the region which can help to ensure peace, security and development in Afghanistan. He said with the efforts of Pakistan, former Soviet Union faced great loss and many new Muslim states emerged following defeat. The MNA, while referring to the role of Taliban in Afghanistan, said the Taliban introduced their definition of democracy and their success was even endorsed by United Nations that opium production to zero.
He also referred to mishandling of former Afghan envoy to Pakistan Mullah Zaeef, who was handed over to American by the government of former president Pervez Musharraf in violation of diplomatic rules and regulations. He said Mullah Zaeef was sent to Guantanamo Bay but released after five years by the American that he was not involved in any case.
Ejazul Haq said Afghan representatives should be given power in Afghanistan and the international community should avoid imposing the representatives of a minority. Referring to recent elections in Pakistan, he said they were not totally impartial and there was planned rigging to curtail major parties to just provincial levels.
Gen (r) Jamshed Ayaz and USA Pakistan Policy Institute Secretary General Ziaul Rahman Zabeeh speaking on the occasion highlighted the role of Pakistan in post 2014 scenario. They said the American leadership and the international community should understand the challenges being faced by Pakistan in this war against terror.
A large number of members of diplomatic community, ambassadors, representatives from different think tanks and intellectuals attended the day-long seminar organised by the Pakistan Policy Institute USA at a local hotel.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk