- Military forum suggests Afghan govt to avoid blame-game, identify real issues
A special conference of the Corps Commanders was held at the General Headquarters of the Pakistan Army on Tuesday during which the forum expressed its solidarity with the people and security forces of Afghanistan in the backdrop of recent terrorist incidents.
Expressing their support for the Afghan people, the commanders also expressed serious reservations to the unwarranted accusations and threats directed at Pakistan in the aftermath of the Kabul bombing, according to a statement issued here by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
Instead of blaming Pakistan, Afghanistan needs to look inward and identify the real issues, they said. The statement also said that the commanders reiterated the army’s resolve to defend the motherland against all types of threat.
At least 90 people were killed and more than 300 wounded on June 1 when a massive truck bomb ripped through Kabul’s diplomatic quarter, bringing carnage to the streets of the Afghan capital just days into the holy month of Ramazan. The attack underscores spiraling insecurity in Afghanistan.
On Sunday, Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj also said that the Afghan authorities should undertake a transparent investigation into the terror incident in order to make a determination about the perpetrators of the attacks based on concrete evidence.
“We have witnessed baseless accusations by certain elements inside and outside Afghanistan, made within minutes of the attack and obviously before any investigation. This accusatory approach is instigated by those who have no interest in peace and stability in Afghanistan and their agenda is to damage the Pak-Afghan relations,” he had said.
In an interview with the Voice of America (VOA), Pakistan’s Ambassador to UN Maleeha Lodhi had said that Afghanistan should turn its attention to reversing the deteriorating security situation in the country instead of blaming Pakistan. “We are ready to help address the shared threat of violent extremists to the region but for that, Afghanistan should desist from externalising its internal problems,” she said.
“The ability of violent groups to infiltrate Kabul’s green zone also suggests insider connections which are even more worrying,” she pointed out. “But whoever may be responsible for the latest spate of brutal attacks, the Afghan government would do better to focus on this growing threat rather than hurl baseless accusations against Pakistan,” she had said.