Pakistan seeks world neutrality on Afghan issue

By Masood Haider

Dawn
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 11: Pakistan called upon the international community to renew its efforts to bring peace to Afghanistan, saying that the beginning of winter and cessation of hostilities have presented a "window of opportunity".

It underscored "that only an intra-Afghan consensus can ensure durable peace. There can be no solution from outside Afghanistan. That is an immutable lesson of Afghan history".

Speaking at a debate on the Afghan situation in the General Assembly on Friday, Pakistan ambassador to UN Inamul Haque said the international community must remain neutral between the parties, for it had to remain a credible interlocutor.

"To demonize one side would be counter-productive. It is through impartiality that the international community can hope to bring durable peace to Afghanistan," he added

The GA was debating the situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security: emergency international assistance for peace, normalcy and reconstruction of war-stricken Afghanistan

Haque said it was not possible nor would it be fair to single out any Afghan party and hold it responsible for the cumulative ills of the last 20 years. It must not be forgotten that in the intervening period - that is, between the end of foreign occupation of Afghanistan and the advent of the Taliban movement - the very factions that now formed the United Front were at war among themselves as well as against other Afghan groups.

The Taliban emerged only a few years back, as a reaction to the excesses of the Afghan warlords. As such, the blame for the disaster in Afghanistan cannot be placed on the Taliban alone, Haque said.

He said: "Pakistan believes that the Six plus Two group can and must play its role in finding a durable solution to the conflict. We do not share the doubts expressed by some about the effectiveness of the Group. The Tashkent Declaration was a clear manifestation of the agreement of the Group on the steps to be taken for the return of peace to Afghanistan".

Appreciating the decision of the secretary-general to strengthen and upgrade the UN Special Mission to Afghanistan, Pakistan's chief delegate, however, said: "We regret that the work of the special envoy of the secretary-general has been frozen at his own request.

"We believe that the United Nations, the secretary-general and his special envoy must continue their efforts to promote peace in Afghanistan. The international community must remain engaged and utilize to the maximum the window of opportunity presented by the onset of winter for the promotion of negotiations between the warring parties," he said.

Haque renewed the call for the imposition of an arms embargo applicable to the whole of Afghanistan. An embargo on military supplies would greatly reduce the ability of the Afghan factions to continue the fighting. We will continue to work for this objective.

He stressed that the arms embargo must be accompanied by a comprehensive programme for the reconstruction of the country and the rehabilitation of the Afghan refugees.

The economic reconstruction of Afghanistan would strengthen and reinforce the impulses for peace and stability in the country.

"Pakistan cannot isolate itself from the fallout of the conflict. The influx of millions of Afghan refugees impose heavy social and economic costs on Pakistan. While the overall size of Afghan refugee population in Pakistan has ebbed, approx 1.8 million refugees remain in Pakistan even today. They represent the largest concentration of refugees in any part of the world."