ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Tuesday said that a high-level Afghan delegation is expected to arrive in the country shortly for talks on various issues, especially regional security and counterterrorism measures.
Speaking at a presser here, he emphasised that Afghanistan’s soil must not be used by terrorists, especially in the light of agreement signed in Doha.
“We asked them [Afghan Taliban] to honour the agreement and they agreed to our request,” he said, adding that “Pakistan fought hard to rein in terrorism and would do so again”.
He maintained that there would be accountability for people who agreed to fight America’s war in the 80s.
Taking chide at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan, he claimed the former prime minister had made no political decisions without the establishment’s help.
He continued that the PTI chief wanted to appoint the army chief of his own choice to keep clinging on to power for another five years.
He also rebuffed reports of the government’s alleged plan to arrest him, saying “we are not in a hurry as he is getting exposed in front of his supporters with his own actions”.
He said that Imran Khan will be arrested anytime as we are not in a hurry, adding there is no doubt about people within the establishment who are still supporting him.
He urged the courts to “treat” the PTI chief as it did to politicians in the past, adding “it shouldn’t look like he is being accommodated as the treatment he has received will bring us (PML-N) political dividends.”
He said that special treatment should not be given to the PTI chief.“The ex-prime minister has no courage if the establishment’s ventilator is not attached to him,” the minister claimed.
This is pertinent to mention that Asif’s statement comes some weeks after a high-level Pakistani delegation led by him visited Kabul to meet with officials of the Afghan interim government to discuss a variety of issues from security to bilateral cooperation.
The two sides had specifically discussed the growing threat of terrorism in the region, particularly from the banned militant groups Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamic State-Khorasan Province (IS-KP), in the high-level talks.
“Pakistan and Afghanistan are neighbours and should have cordial relations. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan wants expansion of commercial and economic relations with Pakistan as such relations are in the interest of both countries,” the official statement from Afghanistan had said on February 22.
Afghanistan’s acting deputy prime minister Mullah Baradar had noted that political and security issues should not affect trade and economic matters between the two countries and be kept separate from political and security problems.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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