ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry has asserted that Pakistan was not supporting or strengthening any faction in Afghanistan, “but instead is trying to create an environment where all factions can form a united government”.
While addressing a function organised by Pak Afghan Youth Forum in Islamabad today (Friday), the Information Minister said that this was the only option to form a stable government in Afghanistan and promote a peaceful society.
“Pakistani leadership had a very clear policy about Afghanistan as it wanted restoration of peace and stability in the war-torn country,” he reiterated. He said at present there was no group in Afghanistan that could rule the entire country.
“If a faction occupied Kabul the other would create hurdles, so in such conditions, the goal of peace and stability could not be achieved,” he said, adding that Pakistan was making all possible efforts for restoration of peace in Afghanistan which was indeed a difficult task.
The minister said that the superpowers leave the region after their actions and Pakistan and Afghanistan were facing the consequences. “We have been striving for a strong and stable future Afghanistan as we believe that a strong economic future of the entire region depended on a stable and strong Afghanistan,” he added.
He also pointed out that future of Pakistan’s economy revolved around a strong and stable Afghanistan as it wanted to build strong communication links with Central Asia and for that purpose Prime Minister Imran Khan recently visited Uzbekistan.
“Pakistan has signed a rail track agreement with Uzbekistan which would run between Peshawar to Tashkent via Mazar Sharif,” he said, highlighting that Pakistan also wanted to promote trade with Central Asia through trucks.
Fawad Chaudhry also said that linking Karachi and Gwadar ports with Central Asia depends on peace and stability in Afghanistan, as communication linkages could not be built without peace in Afghanistan.
He said that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting was also making arrangements for Pakistani journalists’ visit to Kabul where they would meet top Afghan leadership. “The government believed that media was the only means to convey our viewpoint to the masses,” he added.
He said that Pakistan Ambassador to Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmed Khan and External Publicity Wing of Information Ministry also deserved appreciation for organising media conclave.
