Islamabad, August 24 (TNS): Political and military leadership has strongly rejected allegations leveled by US president in his recent strategy on Afghanistan saying that scapegoating Pakistan for their failures will not help to win war in Afghanistan.
Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi chaired the highest-level meeting of civilian and military leaders on Thursday evening with a strong rejection of US accusation that Pakistan has been undermining the US’s so-called ‘war against terror’ despite receiving billions of dollars in aid.
The meeting of National Security Committee was held in the capital city to discuss the Trump Administration’s South Asia Strategy.
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Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif, Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee Zubair Hayat, Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Air Chief ACM Sohail Aman, Naval Chief Admiral Muhammad Zakaullah and other top officials attended the meeting, which stretched for over four hours.
In a statement that followed its conclusion, the Pakistani civilian and military leadership countered the US’s criticism by reminding it of Pakistan’s role in the protracted conflict and asking that the US work with Pakistan with a focus on core issues like the elimination of safe havens inside Afghanistan, better border management, the repatriation of “millions of Afghan refugees” and a re-invigoration of the peace process for a political settlement in Afghanistan.
It was also decided that as a next step, the foreign minister will kick-off a tour of all states friendly to Pakistan for reassurances of their support in the matter.
In the first of these visits, the foreign minister will visit China, where he will consult the Chinese leadership and present Pakistan’s perspective on the matter.
It was decided in the meeting that Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif will keep his commitment to US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to visit Washington and discuss the US’s new South Asia policy.
However, a visit to China will precede the US visit, it was stated.
The observed that Pakistan had to manage the blowback of a protracted conflict in Afghanistan that resulted in deluge of refugees, flow of drugs and arms and more recently in the shape of terrorist safe havens in eastern Afghanistan from where anti-Pakistan terrorist groups continue to operate and launch attacks inside Pakistan.
While noting the US commitment to continue to shoulder the burden of Afghanistan and reverse the expanding ungoverned spaces in the country, the Committee observed that Pakistan has consistently supported all international efforts for a stable and peaceful Afghanistan and has also committed more than a billion US dollars for infrastructure and social development in that country.
It said that over the years, Pakistan has worked with both the United States and Afghanistan to promote peace through a politically negotiated outcome which, in Pakistan’s view, remains the best option to bring stability to this war torn country.
Pakistan has also endorsed and supported all Afghan-owned and Afghan-led initiatives for peace.
The committee said that Pakistan has taken indiscriminate actions against all terrorist networks and sacrificed tens of thousands of troops and civilians in this fight.
