Ambassador Sadiq doesn’t pin much hope on Afghan reconciliation.
He said Islamabad was not pursuing the strategic depth policy. Given the geographic location and the nature of its people, Afghanistan cannot offer strategic depth to any country, particularly to Pakistan, he added.
Ambassador Sadiq, a career diplomat who has been serving as Pakistan’s top envoy in Kabul for the last four years, said that the Afghan people always had misperception about Pakistan. “This misperception is created by a handful of Afghan elites,” he added.
Border issues
On the recent border tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan over some check posts, Ambassador Sadiq said the posts on which Afghan forces claim their ownership were constructed by the Pakistani forces in 2002 and 2003. Nato officials had also visited these posts, he added.
Referring to the conflicting claims of Kabul, Ambassador Sadiq said that on the one hand, they call for stopping cross-border infiltration, while on the other hand they demand demolition of Pakistani border posts. The biggest problem of the Afghan side is that they comment on issues without knowing the ground realities, he added.
The ambassador said both the countries should have control over the border and there should be free movement across the border, particularly for the poor Afghan. However, he added that Pakistan should support Afghan people as much as they want and any extra support should be stopped as it creates suspicions among them.
Anti-Pakistan sentiment
About the anti-Pakistan sentiment in Afghanistan, Ambassador Sadiq said it was not a new thing and such sentiments date from the 1947 partition. “Afghanistan was one of the countries which had not recognised Pakistan when it was created,” he reminded.
Good friendly relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan are in the interest of the two countries, but some Afghan elites always try to derail the relations.
The ambassador said that Pakistan has stopped playing favourites in Afghan politics and now it pursues a balanced policy as the policy of favouritism often invites animosity from certain groups in the neighbouring country.
Ambassador Sadiq said Islamabad has to recognise every government in Kabul, be it the Taliban regime in the 1990s or the present Karzai regime and this policy will continue in the future. “The relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan is overlapping and everything is interrelated,” he added.
Talks with Taliban
On the Afghan reconciliation process, Ambassador Sadiq said the position taken by Pakistan 10 years back to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table was being adopted now by the Afghan government and international community.
“We had suggested inviting the Taliban to the first Bonn conference on Afghanistan. And now every country supports reconciliation, but it is too late to be fruitful after so much bloodshed in this country,” said Sadiq.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 6th, 2013.
COMMENTS (6)
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Hi ET, since you've allowed an Afghan and an Indian to make uninformed comments, may I respond?
Let's start by first analysing how strategic depth came into existence. This would be impossible without revisiting Pak Afghan history.
Oh for what it's worth @Truth, you'd be hard pressed to find a single Pakistani Pashtun today who isn't fiercely loyal to Pakistan, and deeply anti Afghan. Anyway.
Afghanistan rejected Pakistan’s admission to the UN on the basis of the Durrand line in 1948 and attempted armed incursions in Chaman in 1950/1951, Pakistan responded by blocking Afghan access to Karachi’s ports in 1953 after which Afghanistan was drawn into the Soviet orbit in search of trasit facilities in 1954. Daud Khan’s premiership saw constant aggression over the Durrand line including an incursion into Bajaur in 1962 which failed and saw his dismissal.
All this despite Pakistani Pashtuns showing no inclination for Pashtunistan post 48.
After the 1973 Saur revolution Daud returned to power and continued to push Pakistan’s buttons over “Pashtunistan”. The Soviets were invited to invade the country by the Afghan government after Daud's assassination, 1979. Pakistan then supported the Mujahideen and their successor the Taliban (HENCE STRATEGIC DEPTH) in the hopes of for once having a passive relationship with the Afghans.It is Afghanistan’s obsession with altering the Durrand line has led it to ruin, just as Pakistan’s Kashmir obsession has led it to its.
ET, I've read your policy on posting comments. I only want to contribute to the debate. Also, I have not been rebutted by an Afghan on my observations. In the best interest of free speech, kindly allow this comment. Thank you.
The Afghan people have grievously suffered because of the policy of Pakistan's interference in Afghan affairs.
this durand line issue must be resolved once and for all before it becomes something like kashmir. i think plus minus 1-2 kilometers is probably fine but saying that there is no border between two countries is absurd.wht afghans want? a border at attock bridge? and yes, we need to get rid of the myth of strategic depth and self proclaimed status of fortress of islam. due to these hypothesis, we find ourselves in the eye of storm for any country with muslim population which is not necessarily a muslim country
As you have highlighted that Afghanistan was the first country who didn't recognize Pakistan, so then kindly also say the complete story. Because in Afghanistan in that time wanted to first resolve the issue of Durand line and then create a new state by the name of Pakistan, and even in the referendum there was no option of Afghanistan for the people living in the Durand line. And both countries till now they suffer just because this issue was not resolved in that time. And now we don't have well controlled border with Afghanistan, because Afghanistan till now they don't accept the Duran line as a border. So i think it was better in that time what we should have considered what Afghanistan demands.
why don't we stop helping them all-together and send all afghan refuges alongside all the foreign aid back to their motherland? They can build a better country with the aid and we can build a better country without the aid.