Pakistan lost opportunities given by President Ghani: Hina Khar

Former foreign affairs minister Hina Rabbani Khar has said Pakistan should change course in neighbouring Afghanistan, a recommendation which comes amid deteriorating relations between Kabul and Islamabad, mainly due to war against terrorism.

In an interview with Gandhara/RFERL, Khar urged Islamabad to revive their administration’s foreign policy approach of maintaining good relations with neighbouring countries.

In response to a question regarding Kabul’s stance against Pakistan, accusing it of harbouring the Afghan militant groups, Khar said, “That is the most disheartening thing to see. It causes me personal grief because we had literally poised Pakistan within the region.

“When I was foreign minister, we tried to concentrate on relations closer to home. And I, as well as my prime minister at that time, have categorically said that Kabul is the most important capital for Pakistan.

“We invested a great deal of energy and effort to make Kabul as the most important capital for us. As foreign minister of Pakistan, I visited Kabul three times in two years. In contrast, I visited Washington only once. It was because we thought Kabul is more important.”

Khar further added, “What this government has been able to do is let the opportunity that came with President Ashraf Ghani go by. We lost that window of opportunity that opened when Ghani came into power. He gave Pakistan a pretty reasonable deal. He offered pretty much everything that Pakistan was asking for.

“I do not know the internal dynamics of the current government to be able to say what they should do to make amends, but I can say for sure that this government has not been able to sustain its relationship with Afghanistan, India, and Iran.”