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Pak commends UN for breakthrough on Afghan talks
Pakistan on Tuesday congratulated the UN for the breakthrough in talks on Afghanistan`s future and said Islamabad hopes the Afghan factions will soon name people to hold key interim government posts.
Pakistan on Tuesday congratulated the UN for the breakthrough in talks on Afghanistan's future and said Islamabad hopes the Afghan factions will soon name people to hold key interim government posts.
The UN-sponsored talks on Afghanistan's future entered their final stage near Bonn, Germany, after the Northern Alliance, bowing to the US pressure, presented names of candidates for posts in an interim administration. Islamabad has been lobbying for a broad-based Afghan government, including representation from Afghanistan's largest ethnic group, the Pashtuns, who live on both the sides of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Aziz Ahmed Khan Pakistan congratulated UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and UN special representative Lakhdar Brahimi on the reports that the conference was near a successful conclusion. The four Afghan factions have settled final details of a framework accord and created a 29-member executive body - the first step toward restoring peace in war-battered Afghanistan.
"Mutual accommodation among Afghan leaders is necessary for peace and stability and for the return of normalcy after two decades of conflict and strife," Khan said.
"Pakistan too has borne heavy economic and social costs as a result of the Afghan conflict," he said. "The provision of asylum to over 3 million refugees has resulted in consequential environmental damage, proliferation of weapons, narcotics trafficking, smuggling and terrorist crimes." Pakistan, once the closest ally of the hardline Taliban, deserted the orthodox Islamic militia after it refused to turn over Osama bin Laden, the key suspect of Sept. 11 terrorist strikes in the US.
The Taliban have lost control of most parts of Afghanistan since the US-led attacks started on Afghanistan on Oct. 7. Now the Taliban control a few pockets in Afghanistan's south close to the border with Pakistan. Khan said despite its own economic woes, Pakistan will join other countries and contribute to international programs for Afghanistan's reconstruction and rehabilitation. Pakistan also reiterated its demand for the deployment of multinational forces in the Afghan capital.
Demilitarization of Kabul and the presence of multinational forces are a must to ensure the safety and the success of the new setup, Khan said.
Bureau Report
The UN-sponsored talks on Afghanistan's future entered their final stage near Bonn, Germany, after the Northern Alliance, bowing to the US pressure, presented names of candidates for posts in an interim administration. Islamabad has been lobbying for a broad-based Afghan government, including representation from Afghanistan's largest ethnic group, the Pashtuns, who live on both the sides of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Aziz Ahmed Khan Pakistan congratulated UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and UN special representative Lakhdar Brahimi on the reports that the conference was near a successful conclusion. The four Afghan factions have settled final details of a framework accord and created a 29-member executive body - the first step toward restoring peace in war-battered Afghanistan.
"Mutual accommodation among Afghan leaders is necessary for peace and stability and for the return of normalcy after two decades of conflict and strife," Khan said.
"Pakistan too has borne heavy economic and social costs as a result of the Afghan conflict," he said. "The provision of asylum to over 3 million refugees has resulted in consequential environmental damage, proliferation of weapons, narcotics trafficking, smuggling and terrorist crimes." Pakistan, once the closest ally of the hardline Taliban, deserted the orthodox Islamic militia after it refused to turn over Osama bin Laden, the key suspect of Sept. 11 terrorist strikes in the US.
The Taliban have lost control of most parts of Afghanistan since the US-led attacks started on Afghanistan on Oct. 7. Now the Taliban control a few pockets in Afghanistan's south close to the border with Pakistan. Khan said despite its own economic woes, Pakistan will join other countries and contribute to international programs for Afghanistan's reconstruction and rehabilitation. Pakistan also reiterated its demand for the deployment of multinational forces in the Afghan capital.
Demilitarization of Kabul and the presence of multinational forces are a must to ensure the safety and the success of the new setup, Khan said.
Bureau Report