ISLAMABAD, Jul 09 (APP): Prime Minister’s National Security Adviser Dr Moeed Yusuf Friday said Pakistan’s role in Afghanistan peace process could merely be of a ‘facilitator’ which was already being done whereas anything beyond this was not possible.
Pakistan had provided all possible assistance and cooperation on the issue of Afghanistan and nothing more could be done, he said in an interview with Voice of America on Friday.
Dr Moeed Yusuf said the Afghan Taliban were not subject to Pakistan rather the latter used its influence and brought them to the negotiation table.
He added the United States had repeatedly claimed that Pakistan was a constructive partner for peace in Afghanistan.
Expressing Pakistan’s concerns over the current situation in Afghanistan, the national security adviser said Pakistan was saying for the past 20 years that in the context of Afghan history and regional situation, victory through war was not possible. Therefore, the issue should be resolved only through political reconciliation, he added.
He said Pakistan’s leadership had spent a lot of time and energy on Afghanistan but despite such hard work, listening to ‘Do More’ was unreasonable.
Pakistan, he said was working on adopting a joint strategy with the regional countries for reconciliation in Afghanistan, but some countries that had caused problems in the past might not do that.
He said it was the Afghan nation who would decide their future rulers.
He added that the United States was leaving Afghanistan in a situation where Afghans were continuing to fight each other and unrest was spreading in the region.
That was the mistake, he said the world made in the 1990s and vowed it would not be repeated.
Dr Moeed mentioned that Pakistan had persuaded the Taliban to negotiate with the United States for lasting peace in Afghanistan and stability in the region, which led to the signing of the Doha Peace Accord. However, in the second phase, there was no pressure on the Kabul administration to reach an inter-Afghan agreement, he said.
He noted that Pakistan still wanted to have better relations with the United States and work together. But with the desire for a broader relationship, it had made it clear that it would work with the United States on common interests, he added.
He told that Pakistan was not in a position to accept refugees if the situation in Afghanistan deteriorated. “International forces and the United Nations will have to deal with this inside Afghanistan,” he added.
Dr Moeed said, “Now is the time to resolve the issue of Afghanistan through policy measure and international powers and organizations should try to prevent such a situation.”
