Underlining the need of collective efforts to combat the menace of terrorism, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Wednesday that working towards the achievement of a peaceful neighbourhood is a cardinal principle of Pakistan's foreign policy. In his opening remarks at the inauguration of the Ministerial Conference of Heart of Asia - Istanbul Process, Prime Minister said Pakistan firmly believes that peace is vital for development and vice versa.
He said Pakistan remains committed to strengthening its relations with all its neighbours and regional countries, as well as promoting regional cooperation and connectivity. Pakistan attaches great importance to the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process as a forum for sustainable peace, progress and development in Afghanistan, our region and beyond, he added.
The Prime Minister said external interventions have seriously eroded peace, stability and socio-political cohesion of the Afghan society. It is important that efforts towards durable peace and stability should hinge upon respect for Afghanistan's sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inherent values of the Afghan society. Pakistan has always emphasised a holistic approach for bringing a lasting peace to Afghanistan. "It is our firm belief that a robust and meaningful reconciliation process owned and led by Afghans, is vital for long term peace and stability in Afghanistan".
The Prime Minister further stated that he would like to reiterate Pakistan's commitment and desire to facilitate the resumption of the stalled reconciliation process and to this effect Pakistan is ready to extend support to a meaningful process, wherein both the Afghan Government and the Taliban can move forward, in the spirit of accommodation and reconciliation.
"We deeply appreciate the support of our friends for the Afghan reconciliation process and believe that the association of China and the US in the reconciliation process has been instrumental in moving the process forward. He said Pakistan looks forward to continue engagement in achieving positive results in the reconciliation process," the prime minister added. The consensus-based military operation "Zarb-e-Azb" and the National Action Plan have been remarkably successful in our campaign against terrorism and extremism. These are delivering desired results, the PM said.
We are convinced that terrorism and extremism are the common enemies of Pakistan and Afghanistan and both the countries need a collective approach to combat the twin menace. "We believe that efforts for a long-term stability in Afghanistan should envisage the return and resettlement of Afghan refugees to their homeland, in a dignified manner. Massive cross-border movement of refugees constitutes a security risk and is exploited by the miscreants for their nefarious designs," he added.
He said it was his honour to personally welcome "brother Ashraf Ghani", President of Afghanistan, who graciously agreed to visit Islamabad and jointly inaugurate the conference. The Prime Minister further stated that since the inception of the conference in 2011, the process is emerging as an important and credible initiative offering immense opportunities for participating and supporting countries in pursuit of our shared objectives.
"After the political and security transitions of 2014, we have to intensify efforts to move forward from a conceptual domain to tangible landmarks for the implementation of concrete ideas and projects envisioned in the Istanbul process declarations. The conference being held under the theme of "enhanced cooperation for countering security threats and promoting connectivity in the Heart of Asia Region" reflects the desire for promoting regional development, increasing economic and trade linkages, improving quality of life for the people and meeting security challenges to achieve these objectives. He said he was confident that deliberations and the proposed Islamabad declaration will appropriately encompass all these areas.
Processes like Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan (RECCA), based on the concept of building east-west and north-south linkages add to the dimensions of the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process. Regional projects like CASA-1000, TAPI, Iran-Pakistan Gas Pipeline and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor are a few other mega projects with a promise of changing the economic landscape of the region.