At the UN Pakistan said
that neither side in the Afghan conflict can impose a military solution on each
other and called for a negotiated end to the war, says a press release received
from New York here today.
“Neither the Coalition and Kabul, nor the Afghan Taliban,
can impose a military solution on each other”, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UN,
Dr. Maleeha Lodhi told the 193 member UN body while participating in the annual
debate in the General Assembly on the situation in Afghanistan. Arguing against
the continuing resort to military force in Afghanistan, she said that “sixteen
years of war, waged by the world’s most powerful forces, have not secured a
military solution.” “The promotion of
a political settlement and the pursuit of a military solution in Afghanistan
are mutually incompatible”, Ambassador Lodhi said and added that another resort
to the military option without an accompanying political strategy will not
produce a result different from the past”. It will instead lead to more
violence and suffering for the Afghan people and further instability in the
region, she asserted. The international community, she said, is unanimous
in its view that sustainable peace in Afghanistan is achievable only through a
negotiated settlement. “The resolution that the GA adopted today reaffirms this
international consensus”, she emphasized. The Pakistani
envoy said her country has consistently proposed a political settlement as the
most viable course to end the decades of conflict and suffering in Afghanistan.
In her address to the UNGA Ambassador Lodhi also called
on the Afghan Taliban to abandon violence and come to the negotiating table to
engage in a serious dialogue for peace. While welcoming
the Afghan peace and reconciliation plan, Ambassador Lodhi expressed the hope
that it will serve as a first step towards working for a political settlement.
Ambassador
Lodhi also highlighted the fallout on Pakistan of the prolonged conflict in
Afghanistan, including terrorism, which Pakistan has been obliged to address.
She said,
“We have deployed 200,000 troops on our western border; we have conducted the
largest anti-terrorism campaign anywhere in the world; these military campaigns
have succeeded in clearing our tribal areas of almost all militant and
terrorist groups”. She also told the
world body of the heavy price paid by Pakistan. “Over 27,000 Pakistanis,
including 6,500 military and law enforcement personnel have been martyred as a
result of terrorism. Pakistan’s economic losses are estimated at over $120
billion”, she added.
In her statement Ambassador Lodhi also recounted
comprehensive and tangible steps taken by Pakistan over the years to support
Afghanistan's economy and development. “Pakistan
facilitates the transit of Afghan goods without any quantitative restrictions.
We have recently taken a series of additional measures, to facilitate transit
trade she said. She said Pakistan
envisaged a future of even closer economic cooperation with Afghanistan.
Pakistan has
actively promoted the TAPI gas pipeline and the CASA 1000 project, which would
address the energy needs of the region and generate significant economic
activity in Afghanistan.
She emphasized closer cooperation between Pakistan and
Afghanistan as a vital component of the endeavor to realize peace and security
within Afghanistan and the entire region. In that regard she said
that Pakistan has shared comprehensive proposals with Afghanistan to monitor
and control the border and for effective border management. This includes the
establishment of a “Ground Coordination Centre” and deployment of Liaison
Officers on the international border.
“We believe such measures can play a vital role in
stopping the cross border movement of terrorists. We hope that the Afghan
Government will respond positively to our proposals to strengthen border
controls”, she added. She concluded her
address by saying that the path to peace in Afghanistan was ‘arduous but
achievable’. However, she added, “it was up to the Afghan parties themselves to
acknowledge that there was no alternative path to peace than an unconditional
dialogue”, and thus make the tough but necessary compromises to arrive at a
negotiated peace.
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