Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Ershad Ahmadi. PHOTO: FILE
Pakistan on Monday rejected claims by senior Afghan officials that it had proposed a power-sharing deal between the Taliban and the Afghan government.
“These allegations are incorrect,” said foreign ministry spokesman Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, referring to Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Ershad Ahmadi’s comments about a “power-sharing formula”.
Ahmadi told Reuters in Kabul that Pakistan’s national security adviser Sartaj Aziz floated the concept of an Afghan power-sharing arrangement between Kabul and the Taliban in his latest meeting with Afghan envoy Umer Daudzai.
In a text message to The Express Tribune, Chaudhry rubbished the Afghan official’s claims. Pakistan, according to him, has been making all possible efforts to facilitate the reconciliation process in Afghanistan.
He also lashed out with anger at similar remarks made by President Hamid Karzai at a press conference in Kabul with British Prime Minister David Cameron on Saturday.
“In the past six months, efforts have been made to impose federalism on the people of Afghanistan through the Taliban or by handing over one or two places to the Taliban,” the Afghan state TV quoted Karzai as saying at the press conference.
“We have heard rumours from Pakistan as well and have reports that they have made efforts in this respect. I do not know what Pakistan’s interest is in it, because such a situation in Afghanistan will mostly be unfavourable for Pakistan,” said Karzai.
The foreign ministry spokesman also disputed Karzai’s claim in a telephonic call.
The new controversy surfaced hours after an Afghan diplomatic source said that Pakistani adviser to the prime minister on national security and foreign affairs, Sartaj Aziz, would visit Kabul to discuss the agenda for President Hamid Karzai’s visit to Pakistan.
Though Chaudhry did not rule out the possibility of Aziz visiting Kabul, he refused to comment about the trip.
The two sides agreed on Aziz’s visit following Nawaz Sharif’s second phone call in a week to President Karzai on Sunday evening, an Afghan diplomatic source told The Express Tribune on Monday.
“Sartaj Aziz is likely to visit Kabul after Prime Minister s first official four-day visit to China, beginning on July 4,” he said. Both sides have agreed on the visit and the dates will be announced later.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 2nd, 2013.
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