PAKISTAN has, once again, demonstrated its commitment to the well-being of people of Afghanistan by proposing a roadmap to end global isolation of the country.
Speaking at the inaugural meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Contact Group on Afghanistan, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar proposed a comprehensive approach that combines humanitarian, economic and political engagement, adding Afghanistan is caught in a political deadlock, which cannot continue indefinitely. He stressed that the OIC should advocate for greater international funding to meet Afghanistan’s urgent humanitarian needs, free from political conditions. He also called for measures to stabilize Afghanistan’s battered economy, revive its banking system and create conditions conducive to trade, commercial activity and regional connectivity projects.
Pakistan has genuine grievances against Afghanistan as highlighted by almost daily terrorist attacks in parts of the country, especially in KP and Balochistan, by militants enjoying safe havens in Afghanistan. On its part, Pakistan carried out effective operations against all sorts of terrorist outfits including those presenting threat to the security and solidarity of Afghanistan but now it is not getting cooperation from the neighbouring country when a war is being waged to eliminate threats of terrorism to Pakistan. However, despite all this, Pakistan wants complete restoration of peace in Afghanistan and an end to its international isolation, which is adding to the miseries of its people. The plan proposed by the Deputy Prime Minister has necessary elements to address the full spectrum of challenges facing Afghanistan. He sensitized the international community that after nearly five decades of conflict and civil war, Afghanistan had entered a phase of relative calm, but this stability remained fragile. Sanctions, terrorism, narcotics trafficking, unemployment, poverty, human rights concerns and an unrecognized political dispensation had all combined to keep the country in a precarious position. In fact, there are two major issues of concern to the members of the international community including Pakistan – continued presence of more than two dozens of terrorist groups that are using Afghan soil to plan and launch attacks against other countries and their interests and lack of respect for human rights. With this in view, Pakistan has proposed initiation of sustained dialogue with the Taliban, both at the regional and multilateral levels, to encourage them to comply with their international obligations. A strong message from the OIC group was sent to Afghanistan as well, which urged the Taliban to lift restrictions on women and girls that are unjustified and contrary to Islamic principles and norms of Muslim society. This appeal comes on the heels of a recent decree by the Taliban in which they have banned all published work of Afghan women writers besides the policy governing education of girls. The woes of Afghan people can surely be mitigated if the Taliban Government abandons its dubious policies and moves forwards firmly to address the concern of the international community as this will encourage countries to recognize the regime and formalization of relations will help promote its economy. There is no denying the fact that Afghanistan has to play a central role in key initiatives aimed at regional connectivity and economic cooperation but these are intrinsically linked to durable peace and security in the strife-torn country. These projects have the potential to bring substantial revenue to the country besides provision of employment opportunities and enhanced economic activity in the length and breadth of the country. Apart from recommending measures to help end international isolation of Afghanistan, Pakistan has gone a step further in proposing establishment of a joint working group of the OIC to develop a comprehensive roadmap for the purpose with reciprocal steps from the Afghanistan Government. As before, Pakistan has extended an olive branch to Afghanistan and it is now for Kabul to respond positively to ensure practical moves on this front.
