Fazlullah hideout is out of reach: Afghan envoy

Omar Zakhilwal calls for building trust between Islamabad, Kabul

PESHAWAR:

Afghanistan’s Ambassador in Pakistan Dr Omar Zakhilwal revealed on Thursday that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Mullah Fazlullah was hiding in a part of his country that is out of Kabul’s reach.

“Such elements (TTP) are hiding in areas which are out of government control,” Dr Zakhilwal said when asked about the TTP chief during a talk with journalists at the Afghan Consulate in Peshawar on Thursday morning.

He, however, added that efforts were under way to arrest or eliminate terrorists — whether they were from Pakistan, Afghanistan or any other country.

Islamabad has accused Fazlullah of orchestrating attacks in Pakistan from his safe havens in Afghanistan and has repeatedly asked Kabul to hand him over.

Dr Zakhilwal made it clear that Afghanistan would never allow anyone to work against Pakistan or harm its people.

“If there is no peace and stability in Afghanistan, the thought or feeling of peace in Pakistan is also meaningless,” Dr Zakhilwal remarked during an event at the Consulate on Thursday morning as he pointed out that “both countries are not only neighbours but also share common history, culture, languages, geo-economic and religious norms.”

Asked about the impending talks between Kabul and the Afghan Taliban, Dr Zakhilwal only offered that they will commence ‘very shortly’.

“There are problems and hurdles but nothing is impossible,“ he said, adding that these obstacles can be removed once Pakistan and Afghanistan enter into an era of trust and confidence and that the distrust was the main reason for rifts between the two countries.

However, he warned that certain elements from both sides of Pakistan-Afghanistan border were reluctant to let peace return.

“Whenever peace talks start, such elements sabotage the process by intensifying violent acts in both countries.”

Dr Zakhilwal, who had served as the finance minister under former Afghan president Hamid Karzai, recalled that Afghanistan suffered a lot due to wars. He added that Pakistan will be another loser if the existing violence and crises continue. In this regard, he suggested that it was time for both countries to act together.

“There may be complaints and reservations against each other but all these matters can be easily sorted out through mutual understanding and consultations,” he emphasised.

The Afghan ambassador went on to say that return of peace and strengthening of cordial relations with Pakistan is at the top of Afghan government’s priority list. But in this regard, he said that Afghan government also expects a lot from Pakistan. “For Pakistan’s one step, Afghanistan is determined to go 10 steps.”

Dr Zahilwal met with elders of Afghan nationals living in Peshawar for the first time since his appointment as ambassador in February.

He was briefed about problems faced by Afghan refugees in Pakistan such as irregular payment of stipends, restrictions to do business, among others. The ambassador said he was in contact with Pakistani and UN authorities to resolve the issues as he thanked Pakistan for playing host to a large Afghan refugee population.

He, however, said that refugees still had to wait a few more years for situation to improve in Afghanistan and allow refugees to return.


Published in The Express Tribune, March 4^th, 2016.