By Sajad Hussain Mashwani
ISLAMABAD : Pakistan was engaging with Afghan authorities on “all issues” including better border management, upgrading the security of diplomats, and curbing terrorism says Foreign Office (FO) said on Thursday.
FO Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said “Afghanistan has given certain assurances and we hope the promises made will be honored,”.
Her remarks come against the backdrop of a spate of recent terrorism incidents in the country, believed to have been planned and directed by the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leaders based in Afghanistan.
The TTP, which has ideological linkages with the Afghan Taliban, has executed around 115 attacks so far this year, most of which happened after August this year when the group’s peace talks with the Pakistan government began to falter. The ceasefire was formally ended last month by the TTP.
Pakistan has been pressing successive governments in Kabul to take action against the TTP and other militants based in Afghanistan.
In response to a question in a year-end media briefing today, Zahra said: “Pakistan has consistently expressed its desire to see a peaceful, prosperous, stable, and connected Afghanistan.
“We wish that Afghanistan emerges as a trade and energy-connectivity conduit to our region,” she added.
‘India continues to act as a regional bully’
During the briefing, the FO spokesperson maintained that bilateral relations with India could not fully normalise until the resolution of the outstanding disputes, especially the core issue of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
“A Hindutva-inspired nationalist government in India continues to act as a regional bully and create hurdles in the development of normal bilateral relations,” she said, adding that suppression of minorities and the people of the IIOJK is a matter of great concern for Pakistan.
Baloch affirmed that Pakistan will continue to make all possible efforts for the settlement of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions.
