Rehman Malik Urges Govt To Call Grand Moot On Afghan Peace

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Jul, 2021 ) :Chairman Institute of Research and Reforms (IRR) Senator A. Rehman Malik Wednesday urged the government to call a grand moot in Pakistan on Afghan peace inviting representatives of Afghan government, Taliban, and all other factions to set up an agreed interim government.

In a statement, he said that Afghanistan had now landed in the worst situation because of the non-compromising attitude by both, the Taliban and the government, whereas the USA also did not play a decisive role to install an interim government before the withdrawal and to avoid the possibility of bloodshed and civil war.

He said that although Afghanistan was not involved in the 9/11 attack, the USA still attacked it and Pakistan was forced to associate with this result less war on terror which cost heavily.

Rehman Malik said that in this war on terror, Pakistan sacrificed the lives of more than 70,000 troops and civilians with huge devastation to its economy and basic infrastructure.

He said that by each day Afghanistan was going into the hands of Taliban and it was surprising that even they could capture provinces easily where they did not have a stronghold.

Rehman Malik said that Taliban were marching towards Kabul with the intent of ruling it and history would be witnessing the second rule of the Taliban.

However, they will make mistakes if follow the line of action of India as India had set a big trap for the Taliban to use them in the neighbourhood, he added.

Rehman Malik said that Deputy Spokesman for the Ministry of Defence had said that Indian ambassador met with the Secretary of Defence Bismillah Mohammadi and confirmed that India was assisting the Afghan defence and security forces.

But, same time India had also engaged Taliban in dialogue playing double standard, he added.

He said that Iran had arranged two days of negotiations between the Taliban delegation and the Afghan political delegation wherein both sides agreed that war was not the answer to Afghanistan's problem.

Rehman Malik said that Indian Foreign Minister Dr S Jaishankar visit to Russia with a one-point agenda of 'Taliban in Afghanistan' and a stopover in Tehran could not be ignored.

He noted that foreign troops were pulling out of Afghanistan at an accelerated pace, the peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan was under attack, armed conflicts and terrorist activities were becoming more frequent, and the security and stability of Afghanistan and the region were facing new challenges.

He said that unfortunately, Afghanistan would remain in focus internationally because of the Taliban takeover and President Ashraf Ghani would have no choice to submit to the advancing Taliban or to flee away from the capital unless he gets American or Indian protection.

Rehman Malik said that US withdrawal without a strategy would prove a big mistake soon.

He said that South Asia was already sitting on a volcano because of the US-China cold war which was visible in South Asia and if the Afghan political bomb bursts, it will splinter in neighborhood. He said that Pakistan must not forget that there was a troika's deep understanding of the US, Israel, and India.