ISLAMABAD: In its crucial meeting coinciding with US President Barack Obama’s pre-planned but unannounced visit to Kabul on Friday, the Defence Committee of the Cabinet (DCC) – the highest decision-making forum on national security – decided that Pakistan would continue with its efforts to facilitate the ‘reconciliation process’ in Afghanistan for durable peace in the war-torn country.
The US president arrived in Kabul on an unannounced visit to review the progress in the war field as well Washington-backed peace talks between Kabul and the Taliban. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani also leaves on a two-day visit to Kabul today (Saturday), understandably in the context of the US president’s visit.
The three political leaders – Obama, Gilani and Hamid Karzai – are likely to share and exchange views on the Afghan strategy. Though diplomatic sources did not confirm that the three leaders would meet, the recent events in Islamabad – army chief General Ashfaq Kayani’s off-the-record briefing to top media persons preceding formation commanders’ and the DCC meetings – suggest that Prime Minister Gilani’s visit to Kabul is with ‘a purpose’.
The DCC, chaired by the prime minister, on Friday discussed various aspects of his trip in detail along with the Kabul-Taliban peace talks and Pakistan’s role in this regard. “The committee decided that the prime minister would make it clear during his Kabul visit that any effort to ignore Islamabad’s role in reconciliation efforts would be a major mistake and hence it should be taken on board for peace efforts in the neighbouring state,” a source told Pakistan Today.
The source said in the light of deliberations in the DCC, the prime minister will urge the Karzai government to include all ethnic groups including Pashtuns in any future Afghan setup. A senior official said the DCC, while discussing the contentious issue of WikiLeaks disclosures about Pakistan, slammed these leaks and observed that it could be a conspiracy to damage Pakistan’s image.
“It was also decided that a thorough study would be carried out about its implications as for the country’s ties with the US and other states as well as its domestic impact,” he said. He said talks with the US authorities would continue on the contentious issue and they would be urged to take a stern action against those behind the leaks.
In his opening remarks at the DCC meeting, the prime minister said despite Pakistan’s best efforts, its quest for a just and durable peace in Souht Asia had so far proved elusive. “Indian-occupied Kashmir is again on the boil with indigenous resistance of Kashmiri people to Indian occupation,” the official said.
He said Pakistan would continue to extend full moral, diplomatic and political support to the people of Kashmiri. “The multiplicity and the size of challenges to our national security demands that we might have to make a departure from our traditional thinking and look for out-of-the-box solutions and alternate strategies,” he said.
The DCC reviewed the security challenges faced by Pakistan and expressed satisfaction on the defence preparedness. It was decided to continue with full vigour the counter-terrorism campaign. The committee reaffirmed Pakistan’s desire to promote strategic stability in South Asia. The DCC also underscored the importance of establishing good neighbourly and cooperative relations with India on the basis of equality, mutual interest and mutual respect.
The meeting was attended by the defence minister, the interior minister, the finance minister, the chief of army staff, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and other civil and military leaders.
