President Asif Ali Zardari Monday said a peaceful and stable Afghanistan is in Pakistan's national interest as he told a gathering of Nato and international partners that Islamabad believes in partnerships based on trust and respect. He was speaking at the expanded ISAF meeting attended by heads of state and government here during the two-day Nato summit.
The President pointed out to the international gathering that the Salala incident - in which 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed in a cross-border strike on Pakistani border posts - "came as a serious setback." "It required that we review our engagement and co-operation. There was a consensus among all political parties in our Parliament on this issue. Pakistan's Parliament gave a roadmap for have taken ownership of that roadmap, Zardari stated. "We are bound by the advice of our Parliament and the democratic forces. The Pakistani Parliament has spoken in favour of co-operation and a partnership approach," he said but added "Such a venture is sustainable on the long-term basis only on the foundation of mutual respect for sovereignty and co-operative spirit."
On the issue of restoring Nato supply lines, the president said the Defence Committee of the Cabinet of the Government of Pakistan has considered the issue. "It decided to direct the relevant officials to conclude negotiations for resumption of the Ground Lines of Communication.
"Our Parliament has also recommended that foreign fighters and non-state actors seeking to destabilise Afghanistan and the region, if found on our soil, must be expelled." Islamabad, he said, is devising a comprehensive plan for this purpose. "This would require the support of the international community both in terms of resources and capacity building."
"It will also require measures aimed at the economic well-being of the people of the areas affected by the military action," he said of the holistic strategy. The President expressed Islamabad's support for peaceful transition in Afghanistan but urged a long-term commitment to ensure stability in the Pakistan's landlocked western neighbour.
"This is a defining moment for Afghanistan and the region as a whole. I stand here to confirm our belief that a peaceful, prosperous and stable Afghanistan is in Pakistan's national interest." "Our destinies are inter-linked," he said. Zardari, speaking at a time when Nato and international partners look to end their combat mission in Afghanistan by 2014, emphasised the "international commitment to Afghanistan must be firm and complete" in the post-withdrawal period.
In the larger international perspective, the president stressed to the gathering that as citizens of the global village, "our destinies are inter-linked." "We all have a stake in durable peace. We all suffer if violence takes root in any part of the world." "The message I bring to you from Pakistan is that we believe in partnerships based on trust and respect.
"Partnerships that will secure the future of our peoples. Let us fight together, not just against the forces of terrorism and extremism but also against illiteracy, illicit drugs, hunger, poverty and disease," he said. "In the ultimate analysis, ours is a battle for the hearts and minds, of the young and the old and of the men and women alike."
Reiterating Pakistan's support for regional economic integration, the president agreed with the Afghan president Karzai in a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the summit to extend the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement to Tajikistan and other Central Asian States. "We want to be part of all initiatives to assist and support the economic integration of the region surrounding Afghanistan."
However, Zardari underscored that "the international community must stay the course in Afghanistan, and ensure a strong and peaceful Afghanistan beyond 2014. International support to effective and sustainable Afghan National Security Forces in the post transition period is critical."
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