The National Security Advisor Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Nasser Khan Janjua
is presently visiting Iran to attend the 2nd Tehran Security Conference on the
invitation of Iran Government. Speaking as a keynote Speaker, the National
Security Advisor projected Pakistan's perspective on the security challenges of
the region particularly the decades old conflict in neighbouring Afghanistan
which has created problems for the neighbouring countries and threatened peace
and security of the region and beyond. He stressed the significance and urgency
of cooperation among the regional and International players to seek an early
closure of the Afghan conflict to pave way for realising the economic potential
of the region.
The National
Security Advisor highlighted the challenges faced by the region including the
great power rivalries in West Asia, the policies to contain Russia and China
and above all the grave challenge of terrorist groups such as Daesh which is gaining
a foothold in Afghanistan.
He reminded the
audience of unprecedented sacrifices of 60,000 people of Pakistan and
valiant performance of armed forces and law enforcement agencies (LEAs).He
added that Pakistan also sustained the losses of $120 billion to the economy
since 9/11.
As regards the way forward to
overcome the regional challenges, the National Security Advisor stressed that
the countries of the region should approach regional issues within a framework
of cooperation and collaboration instead of competition and
confrontation.
Rather than indulging in
public rhetoric, regional countries should take practical measures in a
cooperative framework to resolve the complex issues facing the region.
In this regard, he called
upon the International community to address the problem of Narco business in
Afghanistan which is feeding the monster of terrorism.