Karzai, Zardari stand together for peace

Afghan Peace Council chief seeks JUI-F’s help to hold talks with Taliban.

ISLAMABAD:

The presidents of Pakistan and Afghanistan on Friday vowed to fight the scourge of terrorism and to expand their cooperation to establish peace in the volatile region.

President Asif Ali Zardari first held a one-on-one meeting with his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai, which was followed by delegation-level talks. At the end of the meeting they spoke at a joint news conference.

“It is Pakistan’s war, we are fighting our own war, these are the people who are killing our children, killing our brothers and sisters,” President Zardari said in reference to militants. He called for close engagement between the political, military and intelligence institutions of the two countries for durable peace and stability in the region.

President Karzai’s visit comes weeks after US Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad on May 2, heightening calls within the United States for a peace settlement in Afghanistan allowing American troops to leave.

Relations between Kabul and Islamabad became more tense after the Bin Laden raid, which Afghanistan seized on as proof that the ‘war on terror’ would be better fought across the border in Pakistan.

“We support the people and the government of Afghanistan. We support them. We cannot expect peace in the region without peace in Afghanistan,” President Zardari said.

Reciprocating the sentiments, the Afghan leader said the relationship between the two countries had improved. “Twins as we are, the suffering is the same and the joy will be the same,” he added. “The struggle (to fight terror) is the struggle of all and the victory will be in the interests of all.”

A delegation of cabinet ministers, security chiefs and members of the High Peace Council is accompanying President Karzai.

Former Afghan president Burhanuddin Rabbani, who heads the peace council, urged Pakistan to help end the conflict in Afghanistan after talks with JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

“Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam is an important party and has an influence in all of the Afghan Taliban. We want a political solution and are here to seek their support to establish peace in Afghanistan,” Rabbani said.

Rehman said his party fully supported a political solution and negotiations with ‘all stakeholders’.

He also cautioned against the military operation by the Pakistan army in North Waziristan, saying that it would be tantamount to a suicide attack on one’s self.

Professor Rabbani and his delegation will call on another prominent leader Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao today (Saturday) in Islamabad.

With Additional input from AFP



Published in The Express Tribune, June 11th, 2011.