Pakistan’s foreign minister, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, said that a stable and peaceful Afghanistan will benefit both the region and the world.
In an interview with Aljazeera, Zardari said that terrorism had a serious effect on both Pakistanis and Afghans and that Islamabad and Kabul are working together to fight terrorism in the region.
“We have serious concerns with the issue of terrorism, and let’s be honest, the people of Afghanistan are victims of terrorism and the people of Pakistan are victims of terrorism. Neither we will be successful in our efforts against terrorists nor the Afghan regime will be successful in their efforts against terrorist if we don’t have some sort of cooperation and engagement and that is a priority for us,” Zardari said.
He asked the Islamic Emirate to live up to its commitments to the international community regarding the issues of education and terrorism.
But Islamic Emirate’s spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said they see the role of neighboring countries as important in ensuring stability in Afghanistan.
“In Afghanistan, there is no issue or threat from terrorism. The phenomenon called Daesh is disappearing and the forces of the Islamic Emirate are sufficient to prevent it. But to fight on a regional scale, cooperation is required. We ask all neighboring countries to fulfill their responsibility for the stability of Afghanistan,” Mujahid said.
Two political analysts said it will be difficult to fight terrorism in the region if Pakistan does not change its policy toward Afghanistan.
“Pakistan has profited greatly under the name of the fight against terrorism. It has received a lot of money from the US and NATO in this respect,” said Mohammad Hassan Haqyar, a political analyst.
“Terrorism will be eliminated in Central Asia if Pakistanis speak the truth and act in accordance with their words, but I do not think that Pakistanis will abandon their intellectual plan,” said a political analyst.
In this interview, the Pakistani foreign minister also said that Islamabad calls on Afghanistan to fulfill its pledges to provide education for women.
