Kabul told to avoid blame game

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi Monday asked the Afghan government to avoid pointing a finger at Pakistan for its failures and look into its governance issues and the security forces’ meltdown, leading to the fall of district after district to the Taliban.

Addressing a hurriedly called press briefing at the Foreign Office here, he said Pakistan had repeatedly said it had no favourites in Afghanistan and saw all sides of the conflict as Afghans.

“It is unfortunate to scapegoat Pakistan for the failures of others. The time has come when the world wants answers to what has been achieved in Afghanistan in these past 20 years. The taxpayer in the US, the UK and Europe wants to know who is responsible for no achievement. Pakistan will not be apologetic, as we are not accountable nor responsible for the trillions spent and nothing to show for. No capacity building, no arms, where has everything gone?” he remarked.

Pakistan, he said, wanted an orderly and responsible withdrawal of the foreign troops so that there was no vacuum created. “This vacuum will only be the gain of terrorist outfitswhich will not only hurt Pakistan, but also the region. Withdrawal and negotiations should go hand in hand,” he added. Qureshi reiterated that Pakistan faced suffered 80,000 casualties and huge losses over the Afghan war.

“Pakistan will not be apologetic for the failure of others. We have been sincere and honest facilitators for peace and security. He said the Afghan peace process was at a critical juncture needing the international community to stay the course.

“Pakistan is against a forceful takeover of Afghanistan. Pakistan does not want a military takeover, as we do not support one. We speak of a political takeover. A military takeover will result in more bloodshed and the people of Afghanistan have suffered and this suffering should end. Leadership inside Afghanistan should rise to the occasion and avoid a military takeover. We urge all sides to show respect for human rights and international humanitarian laws,” he said.

He made this forceful plea as the Taliban seized a sixth Afghan provincial capital on Monday. Unlike in the past, Qureshi spoke in English to convey Pakistan’s message to the international community at a time when the Taliban were moving towards Kabul militarily capturing district upon district.

“Pakistan’s objectives are in sync with those of the United States and the rest of the international community. At this juncture, we need more consultations, interactions. If there is a lack of this, then it would not be helpful to achieve our shared objectives. Peace and stability in Afghanistan is a shared responsibility,” he said.

While on the request of President Ashraf Ghani, intra-Afghan peace talks were postponed in Islamabad, Pakistan now looks forward to the August 11 peace talks of the troika consisting of Pakistan, China and Russia with an aim of chartering a political way out for an Afghan-led peace process.

To a query about the possible influx of Afghan refugees, Qureshi said they were engaged with the international community over the issue. “Pakistan has been host in a most generous and hospitable manner to over three million Afghan refugees with no support from the international community and now it is using its own resources. We do not have capacity for more refugees. The international community hardly gave any assistance and we used our own resources. Apart from Pakistan, there is worry by other immediate neighbors of Afghanistan as well,” he said.

On the issue of Pakistan not being allowed to speak on the issue of Afghanistan at the recent UN Security Council headed by an Indian President, Qureshi said this was unfortunate. "India has been, in our view, in breach of its obligation as president of the Security Council," Qureshi said.

“Pakistan is an immediate neighbor which has suffered a lot and we should have been invited. Unfortunately, India did not act objectively. This is a country which is trying for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council”, he said. He said India did not behave in a manner that was befitting of that responsibility.

Qureshi said he had invited his Afghan counterpart to visit Islamabad and discuss the issues that they were facing so that these could be resolved. Qureshi said, "We also urge the Afghan government to refrain from the blame game and engage with Pakistan in a meaningful manner to address the challenges necessary for peace, security, and progress in the region”.

He said there was a national consensus on CPEC and attempts were being made to target this important national project, but the work on CPEC projects will continue despite difficulties.