Pakistan on Tuesday said it could not be held responsible if an Afghan refugee had crossed over to Afghanistan and after staying in some rest house had attacked chief of high peace council Prof Burhanuddin Rabbani.
Responding to various queries during the Question Hour of the Senate proceedings, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said peace was a shared responsibility of both, Kabul and Islamabad and the onus should be on both countries. “The main reason for the deteriorating law and order in Pakistan is Afghanistan. Following attack on Prof Rabbani, our embassy in Kabul received threats due to which we had to take additional security measures. We want good relations with Afghanistan which is in our own interest,” said the foreign minister, sending a clear message to Kabul that Pakistan wanted peace and it should not be accused of violence on Afghan soil.
The minister said the security of both the neighbouring countries was inter-linked but Islamabad should not be blamed for every ill in Kabul. “Pakistan has baselessly been charged for the recent attacks in Kabul. If they had any problems, Pakistan should not be made scapegoat by the Afghan government and other countries. We are part of solution and not problem,” she asserted.
The statement reflected that the PPP-led coalition government had taken serious note of hard hitting statement of Afghan President Hamid Karzai after Ashura blasts in Kabul, Mazar Sharif.
To the question, the minister said Pakistan would raise the issue of multiple visas with the Afghan government soon. She said Pakistan was already providing facility of multiple visas to Afghans but Afghanistan should also reciprocate. Briefing the senators on the envoy’s conference, Khar said Pakistan was also reviewing its policy toward Afghanistan in the envoys’ conference.
