Afghanistan collective responsibility of region

Islamabad : Aizaz Chaudhary, Director-General Institute of Strategic Studies, has said that inclusive government as well as a focus on ethnic, sectarian and gender inclusivity was important for the Afghan government in order to match its pace with the developed and the developing world.

Aizaz was addressing a one-day conference on “Future prospects for Afghanistan and the region” organised by Institute of Regional Studies (IRS) here Saturday.

Aizaz said that good governance and international recognition were major challenges for the contemporary Afghan government.

Salman Javed, Director-General, Pak Afghan Youth Forum, was of the view that there exists a resented mind-set among Afghans against Pakistan that Pakistan was a British legacy. He asserted that such propaganda hindered good relations between the two neighbours and that it was imperative to tackle them. He also recognised the fact that Pakistan had increased trade with Afghanistan which was good for bilateral relations.

Journalist Hassan Khan said that people of Afghanistan were struggling to buy basic commodities whereas women and children were specifically deprived of food which would be impacting the next generation as well. He also added that with brain drain, people were also taking money out of the country creating its shortage.

Amina Khan from ISS remarked that Taliban’s performance despite their claims had been debatable particularly in the sector of human security. The extraordinary situation of humanitarian crisis and weak institutions was exacerbated by the global financial sanctions. She added that the biggest threat which permeated to the region as well was the presence of terrorist groups. Taliban must counter the terrorism, otherwise, the frustration in the region amongst Afghanistan and its immediate neighbours would be consolidated, as the region seemingly expressed less patience for militant activities. Pakistan-Afghanistan relationship was always seen from prism of security, therefore, bilateral ties had always suffered. Dr Salma Malik from Quaid-i-Azam University annotated that SAARC as a regional body was de-functioned not due to the infrastructural deficits but the fault line lied with the DNA of the region as the states were not willing to cooperate with each other.