no knee-jerk reaction: Pakistan chooses to avoid blame game
The spokesperson said Pakistan considers enemies of Afghanistan as enemies of Pakistan
Qazi Khalilullah, the spokesperson for Pakistan’s Foreign Office. PHOTO: PID
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan appears to have decided not to embroil itself in a blame game after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Monday pointed accusing fingers at Islamabad for the recent wave of deadly bombings in Kabul.
Soon after Ghani’s outburst, Pakistan’s foreign ministry in a statement chose not to directly respond to the Afghan president’s scathing criticism. “We have taken note of the press conference by the president of Afghanistan held in Kabul today and its contents relating to Pakistan,” foreign ministry spokesperson Qazi Khalilullah said.
In a carefully worded statement, the spokesperson said Pakistan and Afghanistan are brotherly neighbouring countries and enjoy close and cooperative relations. “Pakistan is committed to maintaining good neighbourly relations with Afghanistan and all other regional countries,” he added.
Khalilullah said that having been the biggest victim of terrorism itself, Pakistan could feel the pain and anguish of the ‘brotherly people and government of Afghanistan’ over the recent wave of terrorist attacks.
“Pakistan condemns these deadly attacks in Afghanistan in the strongest terms. We stand shoulder to shoulder with our Afghan brethren in their hour of grief,” Qazi said. “Terrorism is our common enemy and requires cooperative approach to combat this menace.”
The spokesperson said Pakistan considers enemies of Afghanistan as enemies of Pakistan and has been extending its fullest cooperation to Afghanistan in combating terrorism. “Pakistan remains committed to supporting and facilitating an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan,” he emphasised.
The conciliatory tone of the foreign ministry was quite contrary to the strong language used by the Afghan president, who had until recently praised Pakistan’s role in facilitating peace talks with the Taliban. Ghani’s strong reaction suggests that he is under increasing pressure from people within his administration who are critical of his Pakistan policy.
A senior foreign office official told The Express Tribune that Pakistan’s civil and military leadership worked hard in recent months to repair ties with Afghanistan. “We have invested heavily in this relationship and we will continue to strive for better ties with Afghanistan,” the official said. “We know there are spoilers and detractors who never want this to happen but we will not let them succeed.”
Published in The Express Tribune, August 11th, 2015.
Pakistan appears to have decided not to embroil itself in a blame game after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Monday pointed accusing fingers at Islamabad for the recent wave of deadly bombings in Kabul.
Soon after Ghani’s outburst, Pakistan’s foreign ministry in a statement chose not to directly respond to the Afghan president’s scathing criticism. “We have taken note of the press conference by the president of Afghanistan held in Kabul today and its contents relating to Pakistan,” foreign ministry spokesperson Qazi Khalilullah said.
In a carefully worded statement, the spokesperson said Pakistan and Afghanistan are brotherly neighbouring countries and enjoy close and cooperative relations. “Pakistan is committed to maintaining good neighbourly relations with Afghanistan and all other regional countries,” he added.
Khalilullah said that having been the biggest victim of terrorism itself, Pakistan could feel the pain and anguish of the ‘brotherly people and government of Afghanistan’ over the recent wave of terrorist attacks.
“Pakistan condemns these deadly attacks in Afghanistan in the strongest terms. We stand shoulder to shoulder with our Afghan brethren in their hour of grief,” Qazi said. “Terrorism is our common enemy and requires cooperative approach to combat this menace.”
The spokesperson said Pakistan considers enemies of Afghanistan as enemies of Pakistan and has been extending its fullest cooperation to Afghanistan in combating terrorism. “Pakistan remains committed to supporting and facilitating an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan,” he emphasised.
The conciliatory tone of the foreign ministry was quite contrary to the strong language used by the Afghan president, who had until recently praised Pakistan’s role in facilitating peace talks with the Taliban. Ghani’s strong reaction suggests that he is under increasing pressure from people within his administration who are critical of his Pakistan policy.
A senior foreign office official told The Express Tribune that Pakistan’s civil and military leadership worked hard in recent months to repair ties with Afghanistan. “We have invested heavily in this relationship and we will continue to strive for better ties with Afghanistan,” the official said. “We know there are spoilers and detractors who never want this to happen but we will not let them succeed.”
Published in The Express Tribune, August 11th, 2015.