ISLAMABAD: Pakistan reiterated its call for the interim government in Afghanistan to take steps against terrorist groups holed up on its soil, stressing that such militant outfits pose a threat to the neighbouring countries including Pakistan.
“Terrorism emanating out of Afghanistan is a concern not only for Pakistan but other neighbouring countries like China, Iran, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan as well,” Ambassador Asif Durrani, Pakistan’s Special Representative on Afghanistan said, addressing a roundtable discussion on the “Pak-Afghan Relations: Challenges and Opportunities” at the Institute of Regional Studies (IRS) on Tuesday.
“Pakistan desires peace and stability in Afghanistan,” a statement quoted him as saying.
Ambassador Durrani’s remarks came as Pakistan has witnessed a surge in terrorist attacks, especially in KP and Balochistan, since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021.
A day earlier, the Pakistan Army killed three terrorists while they were trying to infiltrate the Pak-Afghan border in the Dir district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Moreover, two terrorist attacks took place last week, one in DI Khan and the other in Bannu. Two soldiers and five civilians were martyred in DI Khan while eight other soldiers were martyred while trying to foil a terrorist infiltration into the Bannu Cantonment in the wee hours of July 15.
At the roundtable moot, Ambassador Durrani said that Pakistan sought socioeconomic and political conditions in Afghanistan that would facilitate the return of over three million Afghan refugees currently residing in Pakistan.
In a major development earlier this month, Pakistan extended the stay of legally residing Afghan refugees in the country by another year, according to an official statement issued on July 10.
The federal cabinet approved the extension in the validity of Proof of Registration (POR) cards until 30th June next year for 1.45 million legal Afghan refugees and those whose POR cards had expired last month.
Last year, when the country witnessed a surge in terror-related incidents, the then-caretaker government in October decided to repatriate illegal refugees including undocumented Afghans residing in the country.
Ever since the government commenced the repatriation campaign last year, more than 500,000 undocumented Afghans have gone back from Pakistan so far, according to UN figures.
Continuing his call for repatriation of Afghan refugees in today’s discussion, the career diplomat urged the international community, especially the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to come up with strategies for the dignified return of Afghan refugees to their homeland.
Ambassador Durrani also noted that the Afghan interim administration’s efforts for poppy eradication were acknowledged by the stakeholders concerned at the UN Doha meeting that concluded earlier this month.
The special representative underscored the need to remove obstacles to the trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan as well as the transit of Pakistani goods to Central Asia through Afghanistan.
Durrani also called for expediting regional connectivity projects like the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project and the CASA-1000 power transmission line from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The ambassador urged the government of Pakistan to keep up its crackdown on smuggling from Afghanistan.
