Common enemy: Afghanistan seeks Pakistan’s help to defeat ‘non-state actors’

Afghan army chief calls for ‘sincere, close, result-oriented’ cooperation

ISLAMABAD:

Terming ‘violent non-state actors’ the biggest threat to today’s world, especially to Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Afghan army chief asked on Saturday for Pakistan’s assistance to defeat them.

General Sher Mohammad Karimi was speaking as the chief guest at the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) Kakul in Abbottabad, where a group of six Afghan army cadets are also receiving military training.

The rare address by an Afghan army chief came a day after Gen Karimi met his Pakistani counterpart, Gen Raheel Sharif, to discuss border management and defence cooperation amid increasing military-to-military contacts.

Gen Sharif’s invitation to his Afghan counterpart to speak at the PMA’s passing-out parade is seen as a sign of growing cooperation between the two armies at a time when they are battling violent extremists.

PMA coincided with deadly blasts in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad that killed more than 40 people and left dozens others injured.

“As we see around us almost every day, the world and our region – especially Afghanistan and Pakistan – today face the greatest threats and dangers from individuals and groups that are not affiliated with any state,” Gen Karimi told the cadets.

“That’s precisely why these are called non-state actors. This new enemy, which is a common enemy of all of us and of the state system in our region, does not recognise boundaries and is not bound by any religious or moral principles.”

Gen Karimi said the overt nefarious design of these non-state actors was to undermine states and grab power through terror and fear.

He called for sincere, close, result-oriented cooperation and coordination between states, especially between next-door neighbours, to counter and ultimately defeat this menace and threat effectively.

He also called for pursuing the accepted principles and norms of equality, non-interference in each other’s affairs, mutual respect and shared interests among sovereign states.

About the changing nature of wars, Gen Karimi said they were fundamentally different from the wars of 20 or 30 years ago.

“To you, my dear young cadets, this changed nature of the threat environment we all face together and the changed nature of war and peace in our age means that you must think of peace, security and stability beyond our limited national borders because we cannot have peace in our country when a neighbour is suffering and vice-versa.”

The Afghan army chief was optimistic about the ongoing strategic dialogue between Pakistan and Afghanistan. “We must not, under any circumstances, let this historic opportunity slip out of our hands.”

He reminded the cadets that the region had suffered from nearly four decades of war and conflict, but “peace in this region, and most importantly in Afghanistan and Pakistan, is imminently attainable”.

Gen Karimi also met the six Afghan cadets who are the first to receive military education and training at the PMA.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 19^th, 2015.