ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Special Representative on Afghanistan Ambassador Asif Durrani has said that Pakistan’s peace talks with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) failed in the past because the militant group was neither ready to surrender, nor swore allegiance to the Constitution of Pakistan. The third primary reason for the deadlock in talks was that the group did not want to face the law for the heinous crimes it committed, including the attack on the Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar, he added. The special envoy was speaking at a consultation titled “Afghan peace and reconciliation: Pakistan’s interests and policy options,” organised by the Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS).
Durrani said that Pakistan, during talks, had told the interim government in Kabul that the latter needed to make TTP surrender and disarm the group and detain its leadership. He said TTP had 5,000 to 6,000 militants in its cadres taking shelter in Afghanistan. Pakistan, Durrani said, has evidence that TTP is getting money from India through Afghan proxies.
Member National Assembly (MNA) and former state minister Ali Muhammad Khan said that Afghanistan should be given an opportunity to make its own decisions. He added that Pakistan could help its neighbour in peace-building.
Asif Durrani made spl rep on Afghanistan
Former chief minister of Balochistan Dr Abdul Malik Baloch talked about parliamentary supremacy, and said that the solution of all economic, political and foreign policy problems of Pakistan only lied with the Parliament.
Former senator Afrasiab Khattak viewed that the root cause of many problems of Pakistan, including its ailing economy and extremism, was its flawed policy for Afghanistan. Former senator Dr Jehanzeb Jamaldini underlined that the formation of comprehensive external and internal policies should be the priority for any government.
MNA Dr Shaista Jadoon said that the new ruling coalition in the centre would look into all the matters concerning the Afghan policy.
Former defence secretary Lt General Naeem Khalid Lodhi (retd) said that Pakistan’s Afghan policy was under the influence of foreign elements and it even failed to protect the country’s major interests due to the same reason. Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) Chairman Dr Qibla Ayaz said that institutionalism was on the decline within ranks of Afghan Taliban and individualism had taken centre stage among them.
Earlier, Director PIPS Muhammad Amir Rana said, the purpose of the consultation was to focus on fostering positive relations with Afghanistan and addressing terrorism and militancy within the region.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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