Kabul urged to deny refuge to terrorists

FO insists Pakistan not in arms deal with Saudi Arabia for Syrian rebels.

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan on Thursday urged Afghanistan not to give terrorists a safe haven in case of a possible ground offensive against militants in North Waziristan.

“If there is military action on ground, our expectation from Afghanistan, in accordance with its international obligations and our bilateral understandings, would be that Afghan government would not allow any terrorist refuge on its territory,” said foreign ministry spokesperson on Thursday.

Tasnim Aslam told reporters at her weekly news briefing that during a recently held trilateral summit in Ankara, both Pakistan and Afghanistan committed not to allow their soil to be used against the national interest of each other.

Her statement came amid reports that the government is on the verge of launching a ground offensive against Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its affiliates in North Waziristan after the peace initiative collapsed.

Islamabad is not only urging Kabul to discourage terrorists entering Afghanistan but also looking to the US-led Nato forces to seal the border in the event of a ground offensive.

“The responsibility for not allowing one’s soil to be used against other is not unilateral. It involves all states. There is a responsibility on those who are managing the security situation in Afghanistan to control it,” she said.  The spokeswoman called for better border management by the Afghan government and international forces stationed there.

No change on Syria

Answering a volley of questions, Tasnim denied that Pakistan had changed its foreign policy on the Syrian conflict.

She insisted that the government was not considering any deals to supply weapons to Saudi Arabia to be used by Syrian rebels against the Bashar al Asad-led government. She made it clear that the sale of Pakistani arms was strictly in line with the guidelines laid down by the UN Security Council.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 28^th, 2014.