Foreign secy says Pakistan believes that the solution to Afghan issue lies in further cooperation between both countries
Commenting on the capture by the Taliban of the Afghan city of Kunduz, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry said on Wednesday that the occupation of a part of Afghanistan by any group was “unacceptable” to Pakistan.
“Afghanistan is being run by a democratically elected and legitimate government and occupation of its territory by any group is unacceptable,” the top diplomat told reporters at a news briefing.
“Pakistan believes that the solution to the Afghan issue lies in further cooperation between Pakistan and Afghanistan,” he said. “We should avoid blame game and find means to a lasting solution between the two countries.”
Chaudhry said Pakistan stands for Afghan reconciliation and a peacefully negotiated settlement of all issues.
“The solution does not lie in blame game, rather it lies in cooperation,” the foreign secretary added.
Pakistan, he said, continues to exercise restraint and would not respond to Abdullah’s statement in which he attempted to implicate Pakistan in Monday’s attack on the strategic Afghan city.
Answering a question, the foreign secretary said Pakistan would not allow use of its territory for any activity against any country.
Replying to a question, Chaudhry said the Pakistan delegation was in contact with the Afghan officials and there was no downward trend in Pak-Afghan ties.
He said the United States and China also desired the reconciliation process to bear fruit, and communication with Afghanistan continued without any break.
About the security of Pakistan Embassy in Kabul, the foreign secretary said he had received a report that it had improved, and hoped that there would be an end to the flow of hostile Afghan statements.
To a question about the arrest of some self-styled Islamic State (IS) terrorists belonging to Pakistan, the foreign secretary said terrorism in any form was not acceptable to Pakistan, and it would not like any of its citizens to have any links with any terrorist organisation. If any such connection is found, such people would be taken to task, he said.
In his speech to the 193-member General Assembly following Monday’s attack on Kunduz, Chief Executive Abdullah called on Pakistan to keep its promise to crackdown on insurgents operating out of terror sanctuaries in the country.
“The presence of terrorist sanctuaries and support networks in Pakistan continues to cause trouble inside Afghanistan,” Abdullah said.
“The Haqqani network has been identified as the main culprit and needs to be dismantled as has been our demand in the past,” he said.
Abdullah said some of the attackers in Kunduz had come from abroad, and said, “We call on Pakistan to do what its leadership promised to us a few months ago when they agreed to crack down on known terror outfits.”
