Publish dateTuesday 26 September 2017 - 13:15
Story Code : 150454
Rabbani assails Pakistan for unstable Afghanistan
Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani on Monday told the UN Security Council that Pakistan was responsible for the current wave of instability in Afghanistan.

AVA- “The scourge of terrorism and violent extremism affecting Afghanistan is the product of a long-standing policy by a neighbouring State to keep Afghanistan unstable,” Rabbani said during an open debate on Afghanistan.

“It has menaced Afghanistan for several decades now, with its roots located in terrorist sanctuaries and safe havens outside of my country,” he alleged, saying a bigger picture of the situation revealed that the security forces were engaged in a comprehensive fight against elements of more than 20 terrorist groups.

Rabbani told the world body that despite being on the receiving-end of provocative actions, including continuous violations of the Durand Line, Afghanistan had maintained a principled position in seeking to resolve differences through dialogue, diplomacy and peaceful means.

“This is particularly true in the case of our relations with Pakistan, which - unfortunately – has so far failed to respond positively at its own cost, particularly in relation to its global reputation and standing,” he added.

Recently, Afghanistan presented Pakistan with yet another opportunity to engage in comprehensive state-to-state discourse on peace, security and prosperity.

“We hope -this time around - we will see a constructive engagement instead of plausible deniability and attempts to change narrative. An opportunity, even if embraced late, is nevertheless better than one lost,” Rabbani said.

The Afghan view on cross-border terrorism was supported by India. “The international community cannot remain silent. It is the international community's first and foremost duty to ensure that the forces of terrorism and extremism do not find safe havens anywhere and at any level,” said India’s Permanent Representative Syed Akbaruddin.

“We must not differentiate between good and bad terrorists, or play one group against the other. The Taliban, Haqqani Network, AI-Qaeda, Daesh, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and others of their ilk are all terror organizations, many of them proscribed by the UN,” he said.

Akbaruddin said that these terrorist groups should be treated like terrorist organizations with no justifications offered for their activities.

The situation in Afghanistan had remained particularly painful and disturbing with security worsening and visible signs of withering away of the gains, the top Indian envoy said, describing incessant attacks on hospitals, schools, funerals, international agencies and diplomatic missions as a matter of serious concern.

“The multiple crises that have been inflicted on Afghanistan have made Afghan territory attractive for criminal and terrorist groups, who are well connected to international terror and crime networks. These groups are stealing the resources of Afghanistan which ought to belong to the people of the country,” he said.

Pakistan, however, spurned the allegations. Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan's permanent representative of to the United Nation, rejected the insinuation directed at her country. She claimed the fundamental sources of instability in the minister’s country “lay inside and not outside” Afghanistan.

More than 20 terrorist outfits were operating on Afghan soil, many of which were conducting terrorist attacks inside Pakistan, she regretted. Pakistan continued to bear the brunt of terrorists operating in safe havens inside Afghanistan, she asserted.

Afghanistan must do more to end such attacks, she said, calling upon the Taliban to end the violence and agree to peace negotiations.

Pakistan was not prepared to fight Afghanistan’s war on its own soil, she declared, stressing it would not approve any strategy that had failed in the past and that would continue to destabilise the region.

A coordinated effort to contain and defeat ISIL was critical, she said, emphasising the need to promote dialogue with insurgents willing to negotiate. 

However, Afghanistan contested Lodhi’s statement as yet another attempt to divert attention from that country’s support for terrorism. 

Pakistan had a long history of using terror and violent extremism as an instrument of foreign policy, he charged, insisting instability in Afghanistan could largely be attributed to the export of extremist groups from Pakistan. 

Earlier, UN's Special Representative Tadamichi Yamamoto said in a report that on the third anniversary of the creation of the unity government, he saw progress and daunting challenges, as well as opportunities for political engagement in the interest of peace.

Key reforms had been made despite ongoing security challenges and, if consolidated and sustained, they would significantly strengthen the foundation for a more self-reliant Afghan State.

Source : Afghan Voice Agency(AVA)
https://avapress.com/vdciwuaz5t1aw52.ilct.html
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