‘Pak doesn’t want Afghanistan to become a theatre of proxy wars’

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has reportedly told the UN Security Council that it supports an Afghan-led and inclusive reconciliation process to establish durable peace and stability in the war-torn country.

The Daily Times quoted Pakistani Ambassador Abdullah Hussain Haroon, as saying: “We do not want Afghanistan to become a theatre of proxy wars,” adding that support for the country must be tailored to Afghan needs.

He said that inclusive reconciliation process was also necessary to bringing the opposition groups into the political mainstream, adding that a strong partnership between the government and the international community was the key to establish a successful Afghan leadership.

Underscoring the importance of the Peace and Reintegration Programme, he said a reconciled Afghanistan, at peace with itself, was the best guarantor of its security.

Talking about some “strange results” in the electoral process - a reference to Harzars’ victory in the Pakhtun dominated Ghazi province - he said the right democracy would bring people forward who would take the defence of their country into their own hands.

Welcoming the establishment of the High Peace Council, he underlined the importance of its sustained engagement with the UN and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference.

“Pakistan wants durable peace and stability in Afghanistan. Stability and development in Afghanistan is in our national interest,” he said, adding that the safe return of more than 1.5 million registered Afghan refugees living in Pakistan was only possible in a peaceful and stable Afghanistan. (ANI)