Ghani Welcomes U.S. New Strategy, Stresses Terrorist Threats, Calls on Pakistan at UN

AVA- With President Trump’s recent announcement of his strategy to counter terror and stabilize South Asia, Afghanistan’s enduring partnership with the United States and the international community has been renewed and redirected,” Ghani told the audience at the UN headquarters in New York.

President noted U.S. new Afghan strategy sent a signal to Taliban that they cannot win on the field and must negotiate peace.

“We welcome this strategy, which has now set us on a pathway to certainty. The Afghan people have looked to the United States for this type of resolve for years,” Ghani said.

Afghan President called for international action and a long-term strategy to counter the terrorist centers and urged “all ranks of the Taliban” to engage in dialogue with the Afghan government.

With no prospects for a military victory by the Taliban, Ghani said that it should participate in an “intra-Afghan dialogue” for a peaceful solution.

“The Afghan government has proven that we are committed to peace through our own internal processes, as demonstrated by the peace agreement with Hizb-i-Islami,” Ghani said.

He warned about what he called the “Fifth Wave of Political Violence” by non-state actors backed by state sponsors, criminal organizations and cybercrime.

“This Fifth Wave promises to be decades-long threat to international security rather than a passing phenomenon,” he said.

He added: “We must confront the threat of terrorism as a united force, and meet it with a long-term solution that matches the long-term agenda of the terrorists themselves.”

Afghan President also appealed to Pakistan to work together to curb extremists, seeing an opportunity as the United States sends in more troops.

“We now also have an opportunity for a dialogue with our neighbors on how we can work together earnestly to eliminate terrorism and contain extremism,” Ghani said.

“I call upon Pakistan to engage with us on a comprehensive state to state dialogue on peace, security and regional cooperation leading to prosperity,” he said.

In the meantime, President Ghani has declared the United Nations and its agencies must reinvent themselves to tackle the challenges of the 21st century.

“Overcoming the destructive and disruptive patterns of change in the 21st century requires collective and coordinated action at the global, regional, national, local and individual levels,” he declared.

“The inherited model of the UN agencies as instruments of technical assistance and capacity building should be subjected to the market test, namely value for money and sustainability of results in comparison to government, private sector and non-governmental modes of delivery.”

“Afghanistan will, yet again, be the Asian Roundabout for dialogue of civilizations and a model of harmony and culture of tolerance and engagement,” he concluded.

In addition President Ghani took time to criticize Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi, saying her “lengthy silence” on the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya “was tragic.”

The annual U.N. General Assembly has generated sometimes powerful comments by world leaders on issues involving North Korea, Iran, Afghanistan and the flight of minority Muslims from Myanmar as more than 100 heads of state and government gathered in New York.