Rabbani killed by 'enemies of reconciliation': Pakistan

UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan's Ambassador to the United Nations told the Security Council on Thursday that that ex-Afghan president and mediator Burhanuddin Rabbai was assassinated by the "enemies of peace and reconciliation" in Afghanistan, and he deplored attempts to shift the blame in the direction of Pakistan.

"These forces can only be defeated by an even greater resolve of reconciliation and reintegration," Ambassador Abdullah Hussain Haroon said without naming the enemies of the peace process in Afghanistan, which was being spearheaded by Prof Rabbani.

"He (Rabbani) was a person who brought together not just Afghans, but also the people and the Government of Pakistan towards the people and the Government of Afghanistan," he said while underlining his crucial role at this stage of the conflict in Afghanistan.

"I am not sure if anyone can fit in his shoes," he said in the 15-member Council's debate on the situation in Afghanistan.

Pakistan Ambassador said the Secretary-General's report rightly underlined the need to avoid the politics of mistrust, intimidation, fear or revenge, emphasizing that reconciliation under threat of coercion or retribution was ephemeral at best.

Pakistan, he added, was working for Afghanistan's security and stability by maintaining a robust military presence along their shared border which exceeded by far the number of international troops in the entire country.

It also provided concrete security and intelligence cooperation under the Tripartite Commission, which had met 35 times since its 2003 inception in Islamabad.

"Pakistan was also engaged in a number of meaningful regional initiatives on security.

"In deference to such concrete and comprehensive interactions, we tend to avoid the blame game, even when militants cross over from Afghanistan into northern Pakistan and attack our troops and innocent civilians," Harooon said.

Quoting part of the statement by Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar during last week's general debate, he said: "We must work closely and as responsible partners together in a cooperative manner and not rush to judgment or question each other's intentions."

He pledged that, despite serious resource restraints, Pakistan would continue its assistance programmes in Afghanistan, describing them as the largest it had with any country.

Pakistan had also offered to assist in building the capacity of the Afghan security forces, he said.

In addition, Pakistan still hosted nearly 2 million Afghan refugees at considerable cost, and while the Secretary-General report did not provide an update on the refugee situation, it was to be hoped that the international community would remain cognizant of his country's problems, Haroon said.

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2011