UNITED NATIONS: Emphasizing that it has no favourites in Afghanistan's elections, Pakistan Wednesday voiced the hope that Afghan institutions would take the electoral process, now in the grip of a crisis, to a successful conclusion.
"This is a time to build trust, finish the task at hand and usher in a new era in the history of Afghanistan," Ambassador Masood Khan, Pakistan's permanent representative to the UN, said in an obvious reference to the crisis stemming from charges of fraud from one presidential candidate and the departure of a senior electoral official.
"Afghan institutions have now a historic obligation to take the electoral process towards its logical end," he told the UN Security Council which debated the situation in Afghanistan.
Elections were an internal affair with Afghan institutions in the lead; it was up to them to resolve differences within the framework of the Constitution and national laws, the Pakistani envoy said, noting it was time for engagement and statesmanship.
Pakistan, he said, respected the democratic choice of the people of Afghanistan and looked forward to working with the next leader.
Masood Khan said Pakistan had taken steps to secure Afghan democracy, having bolstered security along the shared border and enhancing communication and aerial surveillance.
At the same time, he said Afghans realized that the transition would not deliver full dividends until there was lasting political stability and reconciliation.
While acknowledging the professionalism and strength of the Afghan force, both the Secretary General and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) have warned that it needed support beyond 2014 to ensure its viability and sustainability, he pointed out.
The political and security transition must not be thwarted or derailed, and the projected draw-downs must not leave vacuums behind, the Pakistani envoy said. There were forecasts for an economic downturn when the war economy morphed into a peace economy, and the international community had a responsibility to avoid a large-scale economic recession in Afghanistan.
He said It was crucial to stimulate growth and investment, as well as to create jobs and facilitate refugee rehabilitation. Pakistan hosted millions of registered and unregistered Afghan refugees. The registered 1.6 million alone constituted the world's largest protracted refugee population.
Recently, he said, there had been a sharp decline in returns, requiring the international community to step forward and hasten the pace.
Pakistan and Afghanistan must not allow non-state actors to influence relationship, Masood Khan said, adding it was important to have more frequent and real time communication between military and intelligence agencies to address mutual concerns and build trust. "Allegations made by Kabul against cross-border shelling from Pakistani side are exaggerated and misinformed. When our forces come under heavy attack by terrorists from across the border, we act in self-defense."
The 'Zarb-i-Azab' military operation, he said, has been launched to deliver a "fatal blow" to foreign and local terrorists hiding in Pakistan's tribal areas. "The operations in North Waziristan should not be a cause of concern, but a source of strength for the government of Afghanistan."
Pakistan was a victim of the opiate traffic and had sought to target the operations, dismantle laboratories and seize illicit drugs, he said. But, regional cooperation was crucial.
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