ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, on Wednesday, warned the major powers against allowing creation of a political vacuum in Afghanistan leading to insecurity and instability, as terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIS-K to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) could use ungoverned spaces inside Afghanistan to plot and launch new transnational attacks.

Addressing a virtual ministerial coordination session jointly chaired by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, Foreign Minister Qureshi emphasised that sustained international engagement with Afghanistan remains the best counterterrorism investment for all of us.

He added that any other outcome would only produce an Afghanistan that is internally unstable and externally destabilising.

We are certain that the international community does not desire that end-state, he added.

“We are concerned that terrorist groups, ranging from al-Qaeda and ISIS-K to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and BLA, could use ungoverned spaces inside Afghanistan to plot and launch new transnational attacks,” he said.

“This brings me back to the importance of a strong and stable government in Afghanistan. Only such a government would be able to establish its writ over Afghanistan and work effectively with the international community to deny space to terrorist groups that want to harm our countries. Thus, we must never allow creation of a political vacuum in Afghanistan leading to insecurity and instability,” he underscored.

As a country that has been profoundly affected by conflict and instability in Afghanistan for over 40 years, he added that Pakistan has a vital interest in a peaceful and stable Afghanistan.

“We clearly appreciate the message that President Biden gave on 31 August 2021 that the war had ended in Afghanistan. We, too, believe it is time to turn the page,” he said, adding that today, there is a changed political reality in Afghanistan.

He added that an interim setup has been announced by the Taliban, adding that Pakistan hopes that the socio-economic and development gains made over the last 20 years would be secured.

“We also believe that only a peaceful and stable Afghanistan will be a credible development and counterterrorism partner for the international community,” he added.

Moreover, such an end-state would only be achieved through more, not less, regional and international engagement on Afghanistan, he added.

Pakistan, as an immediate neighbour cannot afford to disengage, he added.

About the present situation in Afghanistan, Qureshi said that Afghanistan sits on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe and we have all seen the reports of famine, food shortages, and soaring inflation in Afghanistan.

He said that there is some consolation that the sudden collapse of the former Afghan government has not caused the mass exodus of refugees from Afghanistan that we had feared.

“But we must be cautious that economic meltdown does not instead trigger such a crisis. While Afghanistan’s immediate neighbours, especially Pakistan, would bear the immediate brunt of such a calamity, we would all feel its aftershocks eventually. Sustained economic support is essential to alleviate the sufferings of Afghan people,” he said.

Qureshi said that Pakistan’s borders with Afghanistan remain open to Afghans “but the world must appreciate our limitations.”

He said that Pakistan is already home to approximately four million Afghans, both documented and undocumented.

“We are a developing country grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic. We simply cannot sustain more refugees from Afghanistan,” he added.

Qureshi said that the international community must put the Afghan people first, adding that we have to take care that in denying Afghanistan access to its foreign reserves or international financial institutions, we do not end up adding to the miseries of the longsuffering Afghan people.

“It is in our collective interest that our actions do not make economic migrants of millions of Afghans who are otherwise content to live in their own country,” he added.

The foreign minister further said that Pakistan’s diplomatic missions in Afghanistan are open and continue to facilitate Afghans who wish to leave Afghanistan. In the days leading up to the completion of the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan, he added that Pakistan provided critical support to the multinational evacuation effort from Kabul airport.

At the request of the United States, Qureshi said that Pakistan has also made special arrangements for the transit of Afghans who are to be resettled abroad.

“Pakistan hopes the commitments made on providing safe passage to Afghans and foreigners who want to travel outside would be honoured,” he said, adding that continued operationalisation of Kabul airport is vital.

This would be helpful in relieving some of the pressure on our border crossings, he said.

Qureshi pointed out that the meeting is taking place days before the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks and “this is a grim reminder of our shared and core interest in Afghanistan: counterterrorism.”

“Perhaps no country has a greater stake in ensuring that Afghanistan never again becomes a sanctuary for terrorist groups than Pakistan. Since 2001, fighting the war against terrorism has taken over 80,000 Pakistani casualties and caused direct losses of over least $150 billion to our economy,” he added.

He said that Pakistan has paid dearly – in blood and in treasure – for clearing our former tribal areas of militant groups.

But these gains are tenuous, as the recent surge in terrorist attacks against Pakistan by Afghanistan-based terrorist groups proves, he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021