Pakistan offers air, land routes for int’l donors to support Afghanistan: Dr Moeed

ISLAMABAD, Nov 25 : National Security Adviser (NSA) Dr Moeed Yusuf on Thursday said Pakistan was offering its air and land routes including access to local markets to international donor agencies to provide humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.

In an interview to PTV News, the NSA raised the plight of Afghan people who were at the brink of a catastrophe due to cold harsh weather and looming threat of famine.

Dr Moeed said there were two main reasons that Pakistan was flagging impending Afghan crisis as first of all it was Pakistan’s responsibility to warn the world community for taking measures to support Afghans in this time of crisis. “Any instability in Afghanistan will have a spillover impact on Pakistan. It is not the matter of Taliban rather 35-40 million Afghan people that the world is worried off who need their support,” he added.

Secondly, he said at the moment, the focus was on humanitarian assistance, adding, “If they do not get the international aid then they will die in winter due to cold and hunger.”

In the past few decades, some antagonism was developed by Afghan leadership of that time that kept on bearing its own loss at the cost of their hatred towards Pakistan, he added.

“It is a landlocked country and has mutual interests with Pakistan. Any instability in Afghanistan will reciprocate impacts in Pakistan,” he said.

Dr Moeed underlined that despite all the reasons, what kind of leadership existed in Afghanistan Pakistan wanted to collaborate with the Afghans.

First of all, he said the world community should provide humanitarian assistance to the Afghans and later should work out institutional building in Afghanistan.

“Any government in Afghanistan will demand, aid and government legitimacy where the leverage is with USA, UK and other developed world. They should provide assistance and then desire acceptable outcomes,” he added.

To a question, he said Pakistan would go by the world decision on Afghan regime legitimacy. Islamic State (IS) escapees in Afghanistan were a threat to both US and Pakistan where the issue could be tackled through dialogue.

Responding another query, he said the counter terrorism and intelligence capacity of Pakistan was augmented in the past decade and there was no threat of any terrorism resurgence in Pakistan.

The splinter groups in Afghanistan are a threat for Pakistan and it’s the responsibility of the state to ensure protection of its masses. We are just gauging the sincerity of TTP groups for dialogue and Pakistan’s terms are clear over the matter,” he added.

“It has been the exit of Indians from Afghanistan whereas they will try to undermine Pakistan,” he underlined.

“We are trying to provide humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan but cannot afford it for long. We can play role in ensuring assistance for Afghanistan but first of all there are international sanctions and it can be done within those restrictions,” he told.

“For 20 years Amarulah Saleh was part of the power process when $2 trillion investment came to Afghanistan, I question him that who stopped you from improving governance in Afghanistan,” Dr Moeed responded to the criticism of Amarulah Saleh’s allegations against Pakistan.

The world sanctions, he said were halting banking system of Afghanistan and Pakistan was just supporting Afghans to improve the situation.