Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Tuesday said Afghanistan’s interim administration should move out of a “militant mindset”, as ties between the two countries remain under strain over allegations of cross-border militancy.
The remarks came a day after Pakistan said its security forces carried out airstrikes on terrorist camps and hideouts in the border region with Afghanistan, killing 28 terrorists, including multiple suicide bombers. The strikes mark a fresh escalation in tensions, with Pakistan and Afghanistan accusing each other of supporting militancy.
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Addressing a seminar in Islamabad on Afghanistan and the prospects of peace, Tarar said, “The interim Afghan government needs to move out of its militant mindset into a mindset of a statesman or state.” He described the situation as the “Afghan predicament or Afghan conundrum” and said it was a complex problem that needed a lasting and sustainable resolution.
Tarar said Pakistan believed in peace and peaceful coexistence, but questioned whether peace could prevail in the current situation. “Can peace be achieved? Yes. But is there a will to achieve peace? The answer unfortunately is no,” he said. He added, “Pakistan and Afghanistan have been, are, and will remain neighbours. We have international borders, linkages, connections. But our past has been turbulent.”
He said Pakistan had made several attempts to hold meaningful negotiations with Afghanistan, including through high-level delegations to Kabul and efforts by friendly countries such as Qatar, Turkiye and China. According to Tarar, those efforts failed because Afghanistan did not address Pakistan’s main concern over the use of its soil for militancy. He added that Pakistan had also “responded to these activities through strikes against the terrorists”.
Tarar said terrorist safe havens were still operating in Afghanistan and that Islamabad had raised the issue with Kabul. He said peace required a policy of “live and let live” and added that Pakistan’s desire for peace should not be seen as weakness. He also highlighted the human rights situation in Afghanistan.
The latest exchange underlines the continuing strain in relations between the neighbours, with Pakistan maintaining that militant groups use Afghan territory to launch attacks and Afghanistan’s Taliban government rejecting the allegation.
With PTI Inputs
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
