PESHAWAR: Former Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) head Qazi Hussain Ahmad said on Monday the government should cooperate with the US in facilitating withdrawal of Nato forces from Afghanistan by 2014 as their presence in the region was the root- cause of the conflict.
He was talking to reporters after a national conference on “Tribal Areas: Problems and Solution.” It was organised by the Centre for Discussion and Solution, a non-governmental organisation, at the lone five-star hotel of the provincial metropolis.
Prominent among those who spoke on the occasion were central JI secretary general Liaqat Baloch and former ambassador to Afghanistan Rustam Shah Mohmand.Qazi Hussain said the US drone attacks and military operations were the major impediments to the restoration of peace in the country.
He was of the opinion that peace could not be established in the region till withdrawal of the US troops from Afghanistan. “Therefore, we should cooperate with the US in withdrawal of Nato forces from Afghanistan by 2014. In case they extend their stay, we should show stiff resistance,” he remarked.