Pak Army making sacrifices for global peace: British envoy

LAHORE: Jane Marriott, the British High Commissioner posted to Pakistan, has said that the Pakistan Army and security forces are paying the price for maintaining peace not only in Pakistan but the entire world by making sacrifices in the war against terrorism.

The Pakistan Army is paying a heavy price in terms of lives to stop terrorist attacks from across the border in Afghanistan and for the security of Pakistan. My condolences to the families of those who sacrificed their lives in the war against terrorism.

She expressed these views in a special interview with Daily Jang, The News and Geo TV. “Pakistan has deployed the army in the border areas to stop the entry of terrorists. Pakistan is our most important ally in the war against terrorism and it is also the frontline country in the war against terrorism,” she added.

Jane Marriott said that the war between Ukraine and Russia was the most watched on UK TV channels today but that didn’t mean “we’ve forgotten about Afghanistan. Not at all, the eyes of the world are still on the problem and situation of Afghanistan. Britain is working on how to negotiate with the Taliban government in Afghanistan.”

She said: “In Doha, all parties participated in dialogue with the Taliban. There is concern over the humanitarian situation in half of Afghanistan, particularly the lack of rights for girls and women, for which we will continue to negotiate with the Taliban government,” she explained.

The British high commissioner said, “We are told that the security situation in Afghanistan has improved with the arrival of Taliban, so this is because the Taliban used to attack the Afghan security forces and people, which worsened the security situation. However, the important development is that during the rule of the Taliban, there has been a huge reduction in the cultivation of heroin, which was destroying the lives of young people around the world. Their efforts should be recognized.”

In response to a question, the British high commissioner said that TTP and other terrorist groups, including the Haqqani Group, continued to operate on the territory of Afghanistan during the Taliban regime, which was a matter of concern. “Taliban should take action against them. If they are not stopped from terrorist activities, they are a threat not only to Pakistan but to the entire world, as everyone saw on 9/11.”

Jane Marriott said that Pakistani construction companies could play an important role in the reconstruction of Ukraine, which would be fully supported. “There is a large number of skilled labour in Pakistan who can work there for the reconstruction of Ukraine. Russia attacked Ukraine a year and a half ago. Everyone has seen the horrific pictures of Russia’s bombing of Ukraine and the treatment of prisoners of war. Russia is a bad country that attacked its small neighbour. The West will continue to support Ukraine as an independent country. Ukraine never thought of attacking Russia. The war started when Russia attacked Ukraine,” she added.

In response to a question, Jane Marriott said that climate change could not be ignored, but the most important thing to understand is what climate change is. “Pakistan’s position regarding climate change is very critical which is evidenced by the floods. Britain has seen the industrial revolution, so it has to work with the world to minimize the damage caused by climate change. Dealing with climate change requires money all over the world. In this regard, the UK will fully support Pakistan in international climate financing through private investors.”

She said that the current volume of trade between Pakistan and Great Britain was 4.4 billion pounds (Rs1,672 billion), which was a huge amount. “Pakistan and the UK understand each other’s needs, which makes us good trading partners,” Marriott concluded.