Pakistan’s special envoy to Afghanistan, Ambassador Asif Khan Durrani, said on Tuesday that the banned militant group Pakistan Taliban (TTP) was a “red line” in the country and he expected the Afghan interim government to take effective action against the group.
“Terrorism emanating from Afghanistan is a concern not only for Pakistan but also for neighbouring countries like China, Iran, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan,” Ambassador Durrani said at a roundtable discussion on “Pakistan-Afghanistan Relations: Challenges and Opportunities” at the Institute of Regional Studies (IRS) in Islamabad.
He called on the Afghan interim administration to take measures against terrorist groups.
At the same time, Durrani said, “We have to deal with the Afghan government with patience and perseverance. Pakistan wants peace and stability in Afghanistan.”
The statement came a day after Pakistani troops killed three terrorists attempting to infiltrate the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Dir district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Durrani said Pakistan wants socio-economic and political conditions in Afghanistan that will facilitate the return of over three million Afghan refugees currently residing in the country.
He called on the international community, particularly the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), to develop a strategy for the return of Afghan refugees to their homeland with dignity.
Ambassador Durrani said the Afghan government’s efforts to eradicate poppy were recognised by stakeholders at the UN Doha conference that concluded earlier this month.
The Special Representative called for removing impediments to trade between the two neighbouring countries and to the movement of Pakistani goods from Afghanistan to Central Asia.
He also called for expediting regional connectivity projects such as the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project and the Kasa 1000 electricity transmission line that will run from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Ambassador Durrani called on the government to continue cracking down on smuggling from Afghanistan.
Speaking on the occasion, former Afghanistan Ambassador to Pakistan Abrar Hussain emphasised the importance of border management in bilateral relations.
He appreciated the highest level of people-to-people and diplomatic exchanges between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Hussein called on regional countries to support the Afghan interim government in addressing the issue of its capacity to deal with terrorism emanating from Afghanistan.
In his concluding remarks, IRS Chairman Ambassador Jauhar Saleem emphasised that apart from economic interdependence, there are many commonalities and links between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
He said terrorism was the main cause of friction between the two neighboring countries and called on the Afghan interim government to abide by its promise not to allow its territory to be used to commit terrorism against other countries, stressing that support for counter-terrorism was in Afghanistan’s own interest.
