Reiterating that his country “is committed to lasting peace in Afghanistan and the region”, Pakistan’s de facto foreign policy chief Sartaj Aziz yesterday said only one country cannot be blamed for rising terrorist violence in the region.
“The first and foremost in our view is continuing violence and acts of terrorism claiming scores of human lives. This needs to be addressed urgently and effectively through collective efforts,” Aziz said at the 6th ministerial ‘Heart of Asia Conference - Istanbul Process on Afghanistan’ in this Punjab city near India’s border with Pakistan.
“It’s simplistic to blame only one country for the recent upsurge in violence. We need to have an objective and holistic view,” Aziz said at the two-day conference.
Earlier, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, in his blunt remarks in the presence of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, unequivocally named Pakistan for promoting terrorism in the region.
Aziz said Pakistan had “been making serious efforts for facilitating peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban that have not yet produced positive results”.
“We need to make an objective evaluation of our efforts for peace and stability in Afghanistan.”
Aziz said his government stood in solidarity with the elected government and people of Afghanistan in furthering the objective of peace, stability and development.
“In our view, there is no military solution to the Afghan conflict and all our efforts should be to achieve a politically negotiated settlement through an Afghan-led Afghan-owned process.”
Advocating the need to promote connectivity across the borders, the diplomat said Pakistan was committed to enhancing facilitation for transit of Afghan goods through Pakistan.
“We believe the two sides need to work together for extension of and improvements in the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement. In this context, let me emphasize that peaceful resolution of outstanding disputes will further improve prospects of regional cooperation and connectivity.”
A declaration issued at the conference called for immediate elimination of terrorism to help the war-ravaged country in its political and economic transition.
The Amritsar Declaration, issued after the 6th ministerial ‘Heart of Asia conference - Istanbul Process on Afghanistan’, “recognises terrorism as the biggest threat to peace” and demanded “immediate end to all forms of terrorism”.
Citing the declaration, Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who chaired the meeting in the absence of ailing External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, said: “We remain concerned by high level of violence in Afghanistan caused by Taliban, terrorist groups including Al Qaeda, Daesh (Islamic State) and its affiliates.”
“We strongly call for concerted regional and international co-operation to ensure elimination of terrorism, including dismantling of terrorist safe havens in the Heart of Asia region, as well as disrupting all financial and logistical support for terrorism.”
Sartaj Aziz and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif talk as they wait for the group picture during the 6th Heart of Asia (HoA) Ministerial Conference in Amritsar yesterday.
