IKRAM JUNAIDI
ISLAMABAD: Speakers at an event have urged the governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan to resume dialogue for resolution of their issues. They said the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan should never be closed because it only affects poor people and that movement of terrorists cannot be stopped by such an action.
They were speaking at the ‘Afghanistan-Pakistan Bilateral (Track II/ I.5) Dialogue’ held under the theme: “In Pursuit of an Elusive Peace — A diversity of challenges, a bouquet of opportunities.”
Attended by a large number of politicians, diplomats, researchers, retired army officers and a delegation from Afghanistan, the two-day event was organised by a think tank, Regional Peace Institute (RPI), at the Islamabad Club on Monday.
“We push India for dialogue but don’t want the same with Afghanistan,” said Ayaz Wazir, Pakistan’s former ambassador to Afghanistan.
He said incidents such as the one that occurred in the early hours of Monday morning in which five Pakistani soldiers were killed were unfortunate.
The former ambassador stressed the need for resuming dialogue between the two countries for resolution of their issues.
Awami National Party leader Bushra Gohar said that the closure of the border was a wrong decision.
She was of the view that the closure of the border could not stop movement of terrorists. “We have self-destructive policies which should be changed,” she said, adding that the leaderships of the two countries should sit together for finding solution to their problems.
Ms Gohar said that Pakistan’s soil should not be used against any state and the government should develop relations only with the government and people of Afghanistan, and not with Taliban or any other group.
Afrasiab Khattak, former senator and member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, said that the governments of both Pakistan and Afghanistan should hold talks with militants and jointly take action against those militant groups which did not agree for talks.
He said that before being driven out of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), militants had strong presence in tribal areas. The government should take wise decision to avoid such a situation in future, he added.
While talking to Dawn on the occasion, a researcher of the Afghanistan Institute of Strategic Studies, Bahar Mehr, said that the closure of the border was not only increasing sufferings of Afghan people, but also mistrust between the two governments.
“The closure of the border was violation of agreements between the two states,” he said, adding that such actions could not stop terrorism.
Published in Dawn, March 7th, 2017
