US & West fomenting instability in Afghanistan: Speakers at PICSS Seminar

ISLAMABAD, Nov 10 (SABAH): Speakers at a seminar accused United States for playing double games in Afghanistan and finding scapegoats for its our failures for the last two decades. 

The seminar was organized by Islamabad-based think tank Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) headed by former Pakistani High Commissioner to India Ambassador Abdul Basit (r) and Major General (r) Saad Khattak. 

The speakers advocated that the sanctions against Taliban leaders and group by the UN may aggravate humanitarian crisis in the country. Dr Farah Naz from NUST University said the Afghanistan again proved that it is grave yard of empires and the United States lost the war at the hands of Taliban.

She said that Taliban are freedom fighters who fought for liberation of their country. She said the US and western powers want to create chaos and instability in Afghanistan by freezing 9 billion dollars of Afghanistan. She also accused US and the west that they are using ISIS Khorasan as a tool to destabilize Afghanistan. She also said that the weapons the US left in Afghanistan will also be used to create security problems in the region. 

European Union Ambassador Mrs Androulla Kaminara highlighted the dire humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and said that EU will keep playing its role in addressing the crisis. She however stressed the need for upholding human rights by the new Afghan interim government. 

Former Corps Commander Lt. General Asif Yasin Mlik said that the world need to be patient and give Taliban some time to deliver. Even American president asks for 100 days to show so why can’t we give Taliban a couple of 100 days to settle down. 

Managing Director PICSS Abdullah Khan said that it is a bitter reality that all kind, types and shades of militant groups are present in Afghanistan and without addressing this pressing issue Taliban cannot satisfy the world. He said that except ISIS-K all militant groups have pledged allegiance to Taliban including Al-Qaeda. If the issue is not addressed, not only Taliban but Pakistan too will come under pressure from international community.

 Deputy speaker National Assembly Qasim Suri argued Taliban will be able to bring peace and security which will help us improve connectivity. Pakistan and Afghanistan are bothers and both need each other. He said that negative narrative against Afghans should be stopped. Afghans are under wars for the last four decades so we need to understand their plight. 

The seminar was address by Ambassador Aziz Ahmad Khan (R), Ambassador Ayaz Khan Wazir (R), Ambassador Abrar Hussain (R), Amina Khan, Dr. Salma Malik, and Mr. Gul Dad.