Pakistan has called for a comprehensive strategy to promote durable peace, stability and development in Afghanistan, while renewing its pledge to help and support in accomplishing that goal.
"We need a winning strategy in Afghanistan," Pakistan UN Ambassador Munir Akram told an international conference on the strife-torn Central Asian country held at UN Headquarters in New York on Sunday. "This (the strategy) will have to be based on a comprehensive approach with political, security and development aspects. Political dialogue and reconciliation will need to be an essential part of this strategy," he added.
At the same time, the ambassador said, efforts for reconciliation would need to be combined with military measures. But that should be done without exacerbating the alienation and grievances of the population. The aim was to isolate al Qaeda, terrorists and die-hard militants, and to win the hearts and minds of the people.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Afghan President Hamid Karzai co-chaired the high-level meeting convened to assess the progress made so far in Afghanistan and discuss further measures to help bring peace and stability to the strife-torn country.
Besides Pakistan, joining the meeting were Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Turkey and the United States. Also invited were the Asian Development Bank, the European Union, the European Commission, Nato and the World Bank.
At the outset of his brief speech, the Pakistan ambassador said: "I would like to convey the best wishes of President Pervez Musharraf to President Karzai and to say that we admire your courageous leadership and determination and we fully support your programme for peace and stability in your country."
After the meeting, President Karzai was asked to comment on Afghanistan's ties with Pakistan. The Afghan leader said his country's relations with Pakistan were "important", and he specifically referred to the joint sub-committee appointed by the jirga to determine ways and means to strengthen cooperation between the two countries.
Pakistan's commitment to contribute to peace and stability in Afghanistan was dictated by the inextricable linkages of geography, history, culture and the common vision of strategic and economic interests, he said.
"Pakistan's cooperation (with Afghanistan) is across the spectrum," the ambassador said. "We are engaged in security cooperation including through the Tripartite Commission, which also includes the US and ISAF (International Security Assistance Force).
"We are co-operating through trade which has reached 1.5 billion dollars between the two countries. We are co-operating on transit, as well as through economic support with a 300 million dollars assistance package for development and reconstruction of Afghanistan.
This is the biggest cooperation programme Pakistan has with any country. "There is a need to resolve the refugee issue. The two governments have jointly agreed on the objective of repatriation and reintegration of Afghan refugees from Pakistan."
About Pakistan's participation in the joint jirga, Ambassador Akram said it recognised the common threat of terrorism and extremism, and that war on terrorism should continue to be an integral part of the national policies and security strategies of both countries. A smaller jirga, he added, had been mandated to strive to achieve several objectives principal among which was to expedite the ongoing process of dialogue for peace and reconciliation with opposition.
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