The Pakistan embassy has taken exception to allegations that Islamabad is providing “covert assistance” to the Taliban to fight NATO and US forces in Afghanistan.
The charge was made some days earlier by veteran correspondent Arnaud de Borchgrave in the Washington Times. In a rejoinder published on Monday, embassy spokesman M Akram Shaheedi says that on the contrary, President Pervez Musharraf’s geopolitical assessment has led him to direct the Pakistan security agencies to wage war against Taliban and Al Qaeda, as “these evils pose grave danger to the peace and security of Pakistan and Afghanistan and consequently to the world at large”. Pakistan’s leadership understands that the fight against the Taliban is in the country’s national interest. As such, how can Pakistan “repeatedly choose” the Taliban as Afghan rulers, the official asks?
Shaheedi refers to a UN Security Council report released on September 2005, which states that the insurgency in Afghanistan is indigenous and “its current centre of gravity falls in and around the provinces of Afghanistan - Kandahar, Helmand, Uruzgen and increasingly, Farah”. He writes that Pakistan would like to see Afghanistan as a strong, prosperous and vibrant country. Peace in Afghanistan will be a catalyst to the security of Pakistan’s western borders and a prelude to opening up of vast opportunities to promote Islamabad’s commercial and cultural ties with the Central Asian Republics, he points out. “It will surely strengthen Pakistan’s hand to effectively address militant and extremist tendencies in society,” the letter to the newspaper adds.
According to Shaheedi, “Pakistan’s people and its leadership know very well that the Taliban are a real danger to their country. It is in pursuance of that realisation that Pakistan has decided to fence and selectively mine the border to eliminate the slightest chances of terrorists’ infiltration. It reflects country’s firm resolve in counter-terrorism. Pakistan is eager to strengthen relations between the two countries.” |