The war on terror has failed to discourage Pakistan from using terrorism and religious radicalism as tools against its immediate neighbours, said former President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai, while delivering a speech at a think tank event in India.
Karzai said that the Islamic State militants who have emerged as a new threat to Afghanistan were finding support from a ‘sinister agency” from “across the border”.
“We know that the Islamic State (IS) in Afghanistan is made of foreign fighters. We know that these fighters are being controlled from across the border,” said Karzai asking big powers to display greater coordination in dealing with cross-border terror.
Karzai, who became the leader of Afghanistan following the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001, blamed the United States-backed radicalisation movements during the Cold War era for the troubles facing South Asia and West Asia-North Africa. The fallout of radicalisation has been long term and has surrounded the entire region and spread to Iraq and Syria, he said.
“Pakistan is paying a price of the radicalisation process that began in the anti-Soviet jihad. Just last week, some of the most educated people of Pakistan died in an attack in Quetta. We, therefore, are appealing to brothers in Pakistan so that we can have a civilised relationship and show that religion is for good purposes,” Karzai said.
Karzai said that cross-border threats need to be confronted and Afghanistan has been demanding for military equipment to deal with the threat. “But India told us that it did not want to aggravate the situation thereby meeting our demand immediately,” said Karzai lauding India’s patient policy on Afghanistan.
“There are many political leaders in Pakistan including Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who want good relation with neighbours and would agree with my request for peace in our region,” Karzai was quoted by Indian media.
