Pakistan warns against blame game

hampering US military attempts to stabilise Afghanistan, Pakistan has warned against any blame game or externalisation of the problem while voicing support for an Afghan-led peace process.
Speaking at the UN Security Council on Wednesday, Pakistan’s UN Ambassador Abdullah Hussain Haroon said the on-going security challenges in Afghanistan were complicated by three decades of war, a lack of capacity on the part of national security forces, the presence of foreign forces, and the exploitation of socio-political complexities by criminals and drug traffickers.
“The problem of security in Afghanistan does not lend itself to mere facile explanations exemplified by externalisation and a self-defeating blame-game,” the Pakistani envoy told the 15-nation council.
“Our quest for peace and stability in Afghanistan is dovetailing into a long-term cooperative partnership, despite the utmost efforts by militants crossing over from Afghanistan into northern Pakistan to create havoc and derail the process,” he added.
With Afghanistan set for a mid-July launch of its two-year transition process, Haroon reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for the reconciliation process that brings opposition groups into political mainstream to promote peace in the war-torn country.
Pakistan’s commitment to peace in Afghanistan was “unwavering,” despite recent attacks by Afghan militants crossing into Pakistani territory.
“The cause of regional and international peace will not be served if Afghanistan is to become a theatre of proxy wars or its land used for extra-territorial subversive activities,” the Pakistani envoy said in the course of a debate on the situation in the Central Asian country
The debate in the Security Council followed last month’s announcement by President Barack Obama that 33,000 US troops would be withdrawn by the summer of 2012 or by September at the latest. The first 5,000 would return next month and another 5,000 by the end of the year.
In his speech, Ambassador Haroon referred to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s report which notes a 51 per cent increase in security-related incidents in Afghanistan. He said deterioration of the security situation has added to the human cost of the Afghan conflict, characterised by rising civilian casualties not only from insurgency but also due to military operations.
The violence and instability in Afghanistan was a threat to Pakistan, he said, adding that his government was extending all possible cooperation to the neighbouring country in the field of security and intelligence.
“Long-term solution to security challenges in Afghanistan lies in workable reconciliation and reintegration processes,” he said. An Afghanistan at peace with itself could best ensure its own security, he said, adding that Pakistan will continue to assist the Afghan-led reconciliation. “We believe that engagement of the Organisation of Islamic Conference and UNAMA (the UN mission in Afghanistan) with the reconciliation process is helpful as well,” Ambassador Haroon said.
“We emphasise the need to ensure that the newly created Afghanistan-specific sanctions regime contributes effectively to curb the insurgency and as a result promote reconciliation in Afghanistan.”