PPP concerned over Afghan situation

The party sounded alarms over the possible impact of the Taliban takeover on the women and youth of Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) expressed on Monday concerns over the developing situation in neighbouring Afghanistan and reiterated its support for a democratic, inclusive and pluralistic Afghanistan where all Afghan citizens are free to realize their full potential in society.

In its meeting of the Central Executive Committee (CEC), chaired by PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and former president Asif Ali Zardari, the committee reviewed the emerging situation of the neighbouring country and its possible implications for Pakistan and the region after the Taliban's takeover.

PPP President Asif Ali Zardari attended the meeting via video link. Key leaders of the party, including Sherry Rehman, Nayyar Bukhari, Farhatullah Babar, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Hina Rabbani Khar and Sindh CM Syed Murad Ali Shah also participated in the meeting.

According to the official statement, the party expressed concerns over the rapidly developing situation in Afghanistan where the Taliban have seized control and declared the end of the war. The members of the meeting particularly sounded alarms over the takeover’s possible impact on the women and youth of Afghanistan.

The statement stated the party was also concerned as to what would Kabul's fall to the Taliban mean for the religious and ethnic minorities and vulnerable communities living in the country.Furthermore, the meeting stressed the potential challenges this could pose for the peace, stability and security of Pakistan as well as other countries in the region.

“The party reiterated its support for a democratic, inclusive, pluralist Afghanistan where all citizens of Afghanistan are free to realise their full potential,” read the statement.Asif Ali Zardari has long expressed apprehensions over that the security situation in Afghanistan and its potentially dangerous impact on Pakistan. Reportedly, before the budget session in parliament, he had stressed the need for Pakistan to keep an eye on the situation in the war-torn country.

Previously, PPP had demanded to convene a joint sitting of both the houses of parliament to deliberate upon the matter and formulate a policy to meet the challenges that lay ahead.

Earlier, a day after Kabul's fall, the Senate Defence Committee while asking the government to convene a joint session of parliament had urged the United States and the NATO countries to learn lessons from the experience of Afghanistan.While passing a resolution on Afghanistan, the committee chairman, Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, observed that Pakistan’s long-standing stance that there is no military solution to the situation in Afghanistan has been vindicated.

He said the principle of “might is right” is unacceptable and contrary to international law and the United Nations (UN) Charter.Given the rapidly changing scenario in Afghanistan and the region, the committee urged the government to take parliament into confidence by immediately convening a joint session to discuss the situation and propose a way forward so that Pakistan and Afghanistan can be partners in peace and progress.

“The government should take effective measures to prevent regional spoilers, like India, from taking advantage of the situation to the detriment of peace in the region and the security of Pakistan,” the statement quoted Sayed as saying.In the resolution on Afghanistan, the committee took note of the evolving situation in the neighbouring country and expressed full solidarity and support to the people of Afghanistan in their quest for lasting peace.