Rejecting contention that Pakistan has not done enough as absolutely wrong, Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri has said that his country has "10,000 reasons" to promote peace and stability in neighbouring Afghanistan.
In an interview with 'The Washington Times', Kasuri acknowledged that Pakistan is worried about the surge in insurgent attacks in southern Afghanistan in recent months, where an estimated 700 people have been killed in attacks blamed on al Qaeda or Taliban.
Kasuri said there was "no basis" for charges by top Afghan officials that Islamabad had encouraged or tolerated insurgent violence on its side of the border. He said that 600 Pakistani troops have been killed in operations against Taliban and al Qaeda strongholds, and added that his country suffered economically, militarily and politically from instability in Afghanistan.
"We have 10,000 reasons to want to see a peaceful, secure Afghanistan, and not a single reason to wish for a weak government in our neighbour," he stated. He said his talks with US Secretary of State on Monday focussed far more on India-Pakistan issues than on the border with Afghanistan.
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