-International engagements sought with Afghans to avert humanitarian crisis
By Asghar Ali Mubarak
ISLAMABAD: National Security Adviser (NSA) Dr Moeed Yusuf on Thursday said terrorism was a major threat to Pakistan’s stability, as Post-9/11 policies in Afghanistan had led to terrorism in the country.
The NSA was addressing the special session of the Islamabad Security Dialogue held here at NUST University on the situation in Afghanistan, said a media release. NSA Dr Moeed Yusuf during his address presented a historical perspective on Afghanistan issue. He underscored that the world should learn from the mistakes of the past.
“Pakistan has always strived for peace and stability in Afghanistan and there are no two opinions on this,” Dr Moeed Yusuf said. He vowed that Pakistan wanted a stable Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib on Thursday urged the international community to engage with the Afghan people to avert the looming humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
Addressing a round table conference on Afghanistan’s reconstruction organized by Global Peace Chain here, he said that Pakistan has been supporting Afghan people and would continue to support them.
He said peaceful Afghanistan was vital for peaceful Pakistan as unrest in neighboring countries ultimately affects neighbors. He said that Pakistan was the only country in the world that was hosting more than 4 million Afghan refugees.
He said as a neighboring country, Afghans look to Pakistan in every difficulty, including trade and medical treatment. He said that Pakistan sacrificed over 80,000 lives in the war on terror and suffered over $ billion economic losses, and the world must acknowledge this fact.
He said that Pakistan Armed Forces and security agencies broke the networks of terrorists, and busted terror financing nexus. Farrukh Habib said that even before becoming the Prime Minister, Imran Khan was clear about the solution to the Afghan problem.
He said that the Prime Minister always insisted on a political solution to the Afghan problem and holding a comprehensive dialogue. After the establishment of Taliban political offices in Qatar, all stakeholders had the opportunity to meet and positive progress was made in the affairs. According to a United Nations report, 9 million Afghans were living below the poverty line and the world needed to pay attention to this.
He remarked that if the world leaves Afghanistan alone in this difficult time, it will have negative consequences. He said that the route to Central Asia passes through Afghanistan, so its stability was imperative for economic growth and stability of the entire region.
