Sanctions may be imposed on Islamabad, fears PONAM
DAWN

QUETTA, Feb 5 - Mr Mahmood Khan Achakzai, Deputy Convener of the Pakistan Oppressed Nations' Movement (Ponam), has expressed his fear that Pakistan will be implicated in the Afghan crisis following the UN sanctions on Taliban.

Speaking at a news conference here on Monday, he said the Taliban were dependent on Pakistan for all their supplies as was the revolutionary party of defunct Afghan Government in Kabul on Moscow after the Government of Sardar Daud was overthrown in late '70s.

He said there was no justification for infiltration and intervention in Afghanistan in the past and the same held true for now. Mr Achakzai said that for the past 22 years, there had been an interventionist policy in Afghanistan which had proved disastrous for the country.

"Whether we like it or not, the whole world is blaming Pakistan for intervention in Sinkiang, Chechnya, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and in Iran. "Despite our strong denials and rebuttals, no one listens to us," Mr Achakzai said.

No one was blaming the Taliban and their trained personnel, he said and added that if Afghans had been allowed to resolve their problems themselves in the past after the Soviet troop withdrawal, Pakistan would not have faced such a critical situation now.
 

"Sooner or later, the world countries will raise fingers at Pakistan and possibly impose sanctions on our country which will be a complete disaster for the people and the economy."

The Ponam leader said that if rich countries like Iraq could not bear UN sanctions, how could Pakistan face sanctions if they were imposed for supporting the Taliban regime.