 PUTRAJAYA: An objection from Pakistan has prevented the Non-aligned Movement (NAM) from throwing its full support behind AfghanistanÂ’s efforts to prevent former Taliban from taking refuge in neighbouring countries.
| Gee. Golly. Gosh. Shucks. I wonder why? |
The foreign ministers of NAM member countries, meeting in Malaysia for an annual conference on Tuesday, wanted their final declaration to urge governments to curtail the movements of ex-Taliban members, Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said. But Pakistan objected and the relevant paragraph was included in parentheses, meaning it is subject to revision.
| "Nope. Nope. Can't have any of that. Nope. Wouldn't do, y'know..." |
Afghanistan, supported by India, pushed hard for the paragraph to be included without the brackets but was overruled by Malaysia, the chairman of the meeting, diplomats said. “The language, while it is acceptable to Afghanistan and India, it is not acceptable to Pakistan,” Albar told reporters on Tuesday.
| It wouldn't be. It was directed against Pakistan. They weren't talking about Kyrgyzstan or Mongolia or Samoa. |
“This is quite normal. We have included the language and bracketed it. There is no final decision,” he said, adding that it would be further discussed at the NAM leaders’ summit in Havana, Cuba in September.
| Where it can be put off for discussion at a later date, say, two weeks after the Last Trumpet. |
The paragraph reads that NAM ministers urge states “to refrain from extending support, protection and shelter to former Taliban cadres, recognising that failure to do so would seriously undermine efforts by the international community to combat terrorism, and expressing concern that terrorist groups were regrouping in the southern and eastern parts of Afghanistan.” It was not clear why Pakistan objected to the paragraph.
| This is the place where we're all supposed to scatch our heads and wonder why. |
Calls to the hotel room of the Pakistani delegation head went unanswered.
| "Thissee maid! Dey no here!" |
An Indian diplomat said the paragraph was in line with existing UN Security Council resolutions on curtailing the activities of the Taliban. “It is a question of concern to the international community, not just to India,” said the diplomat. NAM declarations generally urge member states to follow a course of action, but are not legally binding. The Foreign Office said NAM had reiterated its support to the right of self-determination. Self-determination is a fundamental principle at NAM and the organisation has again reaffirmed its support to the self-determination struggles across the world, FO spokeswoman Tasneem Aslam told PTV over the phone from Putrajaya.
| Including, apparently, Pakistan's right to self-determination in Afghanistan. |
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