ISLAMABAD: Thursday saw Pakistan publicly admitting for the first time that it did not agree with the Taliban demand that the US troops should leave Afghanistan, adding that it was ready to face their ‘ire’ and resistance on this issue.
“We are not afraid of anyone. The allied forces are in Afghanistan under the mandate of the UN Security Council which is renewed every year. The objective of the allied forces in Afghanistan is to achieve and maintain peace and stability. We are of the opinion that unless this objective is achieved, the allied forces should stay in Afghanistan”, Foreign Office spokesman Dr Muhammad Faisal told the weekly media briefing here.
He said Pakistan had been reiterating that the US forces should stay in Afghanistan till achievement of complete peace and stability. “I would like to draw your attention to the chaos in the aftermath of withdrawal of USSR in the late 1980s. The region cannot afford anything similar, at this time. The Taliban are now talking directly with the US”, he said.
The spokesman said Pakistan welcomed important actors involved in the Afghan issue who were now slowly coming round to the point that there was no military solution to the Afghan conflict and the most viable way forward was an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned political process.
“We are pleased that other important actors are also arriving at the same conclusion and are exploring possibilities of initiating a peace and reconciliation process. We welcome efforts for a negotiated settlement of the Afghan conflict and will extend all possible support for any such efforts. Pakistan wishes to see peace and stability returning to Afghanistan which is an important neighbor and a brotherly country”, he added.
He said the border management infrastructure along the Pak-Afghan border had delivered, as it had denied terrorists, smugglers and other undesired elements freedom of movement across the border. He, however, made it clear that border management had not hindered legitimate trade and travel.
Afghanistan has from time to time complained about border management but the spokesman remarked, “We will continue this endeavor and complete our border management project in the stipulated time period. We would like Afghanistan to take similar steps on its side of the border to fully address the issue which has not only affected security and stability of Afghanistan, but also its neighbours and the regional countries”.
He said Pakistan would be ready to share its know-how and extend material support Afghanistan in this regard. Commenting on the building of reservoirs on the Kabul River and its effects on Pakistan, the spokesman said, “Pakistan is the upper riparian as well as lower riparian when it comes to Kunar and Kabul rivers.
Although at the moment we do not have any legal instrument that regulates sharing of waters between our two countries”. He said Pakistan and Afghanistan remain engaged for optimal utilization of available water resources.
“We believe water resources must be used in a manner that benefits both the countries,” he said. Turning to Saudi Arabia, the spokesman admitted that on FTA, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia did not have a Free Trade Agreement because under the GCC Charter no GCC country could enter into FTA with a non-member country.
“However, during the recent visit of a high-level delegation from Saudi Arabia, the Saudi side expressed interest in increasing imports from Pakistan. Both sides agreed to offer greater market access to each other’s products by lowering tariffs on reciprocity. Both sides also agreed to reduce visa fees for businessmen for boosting bilateral trade relations”, he said.
On CPEC, the spokesman said though originally this was between Pakistan and China, both countries, after mutual agreement, had been discussing investments to and from various countries in projects related to CPEC, especially the SEZs”, he said.
