ISLAMABAD:
Ambassador Asif Durrani, Pakistan’s Special Representative to Afghanistan, emphasised Pakistan’s desire for peace and stability in Afghanistan during a roundtable discussion on Pak-Afghan relations at the Institute of Regional Studies (IRS) on Tuesday.
Speaking at the roundtable titled “Pak-Afghan Relations: Challenges and Opportunities,” Durrani highlighted Pakistan’s wish for improved socioeconomic and political conditions in Afghanistan to facilitate the return of over 3 million Afghan refugees currently residing in Pakistan.
He urged the international community, especially the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), to develop strategies for the dignified return of Afghan refugees to their homeland.
He expressed concerns about terrorism originating from Afghanistan, affecting not only Pakistan but also neighboring countries such as China, Iran, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
He called on the Afghan interim administration to take decisive action against terrorist groups.
Durrani acknowledged the Afghan interim administration’s efforts in poppy eradication, which were recognised by stakeholders at the UN Doha meeting earlier this month.
He also emphasised the need to remove obstacles to trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan and to expedite regional connectivity projects like the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline and the CASA-1000 power transmission line from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Furthermore, he urged the Pakistan government to continue its crackdown on smuggling from Afghanistan.
During the discussion, Pakistan’s former ambassador to Afghanistan, Abrar Hussain, underscored the importance of border management in the bilateral relations between the two countries.
He appreciated the diplomatic and people-to-people contact between Afghanistan and Pakistan at the highest levels.
He also called on regional countries to assist the Afghan interim government in addressing its capacity issues concerning terrorism emanating from Afghanistan.
In his concluding remarks, IRS President Ambassador Jauhar Saleem highlighted the multiple commonalities and linkages between Pakistan and Afghanistan, besides their economic interdependence.
He identified terrorism as the major source of friction between the two neighbouring countries and urged the Afghan interim administration to honour its commitments to not allow its soil to be used for terrorism against any other country.
He further stressed that supporting counter-terrorism efforts would be in Afghanistan’s best interest.
