Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Sunday called on Pakistan’s incoming government to help negotiate an end to the Taliban insurgency that has ravaged his country for nearly 12 years.
“We hope that the government paves the way for peace and brotherhood with Afghanistan and cooperates in fighting terrorism and sincerely rooting out terrorist sanctuaries,” Karzai said.
The two countries need to work together to be “saved from the menace of terrorism”, he said in a statement, welcoming Saturday’s high voter turnout as a sign that people wanted democracy despite threats from militants.
The West sees Pakistan’s involvement as crucial to securing a peace settlement in Afghanistan, where the Taliban have fought against US-led troops since 2001.
But Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of imposing impossible conditions on peace talks, and small-scale border clashes have erupted in the latest sign of frayed tensions.
President Karzai greeted the caretaker government and people of Pakistan for holding the landmark parliamentary elections.
By actively voting in the elections and defying threats of insurgent attacks, the people of Pakistan had proved they wanted to continue their democratic journey, the president said in a statement from his office.
The incoming government would explore ways of living in peaceful coexistence with Afghanistan, Karzai hoped, saying it would sincerely cooperate with his administration in ridding the two countries of the scourge of terrorism.
As a friendly neighbour, Afghanistan remained willing to help Pakistan in eradicating terrorism and bringing stability to the region, the president added.
