KABUL: Hamid Karzai, who served as the longest Afghan president and is still considered as an influential leader, on Monday offered mediation to reduce tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Karzai told a group of Pakistani journalists at his highly secured residence in Kabul that he would visit Pakistan after the holy month of Ramazan on the invitation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
“I would love to [play a role for peace]. I am hopeful the visit would bring some good results,” the Afghan leader said, adding that Nawaz Sharif had extended invitation to him last year, which was renewed four times.
“I want to have in-depth discussions with political and military leaders. I will talk to the military… Pakistan and Afghanistan are not enemies, but twins,” he said, adding that he would travel to Pakistan as an Afghan national and not as a representative of the government.
“I will … [make] an appeal to the Pakistani leaders to look at the situation both countries are facing. I will argue that both countries can overcome the problems,” he said.
He said he was sad at the casualties on both sides during the last week’s cross-border shelling along the Chaman border.
Karzai had a lot of praise for Nawaz Sharif and said he wanted good relations with Afghanistan. He described the recent visit of Pakistani parliamentarians as a successful one that provided an opportunity to both sides to have detailed discussions on key issues.
“It is unfortunate that the people in both Pakistan and Afghanistan are undergoing miseries because of war, terrorism and extremism.”
The former Afghan president threw weight behind the ongoing regional initiative launched by Russia, in which key regional countries are its members, including China, Pakistan, Iran and India. He said Russia was playing a “peace role” with the help of regional countries.
He lashed out at the US policies in Afghanistan and accused it of introducing the Daesh phenomena in his war-ravaged country.
“If Daesh is here in Afghanistan today, it can move to Pakistan if we did not realise the sensitivity of the situation. I am sure that Daesh is an American project for Afghanistan and this region,” he said.
“Afghanistan will not be peaceful without Pakistan’s cooperation and, similarly, Pakistan will not be stable unless war is ended in Afghanistan,” Karzai said.
To a question about the controversy over the border, which he described as Durand Line, the Afghan leader claimed that no government in Afghanistan would recognise the Durand Line.
Karzai refuted reports about India’s growing influence in Afghanistan and the perception in Pakistan that India was using the Afghan soil against Pakistan.
“Like Pakistan, Afghanistan is an independent country and has the right to have relations with anyone. India is our long-time friend. But I assure Pakistan that no one can use our soil against Pakistan and any other country,” he said.
Meanwhile, Afghan Chief Executive Dr Abdullah Abdullah told Pakistani journalists that Kabul considered the TTP and other Pakistani armed groups “terrorists” and had taken action against them.
“We have lost our soldiers while fighting the TTP. Some of their leaders have been killed by the Afghan forces, and also… the foreign forces,” he said.
“TTP is here (in Afghanistan). It is a reality… we are fighting them. They are terrorists and do not deserve sympathy,” he said.
The Afghan leader also underlined that Pakistan should take action against Afghan Taliban, whom he claimed live in Pakistan.
To a question about Pakistan’s role in the Afghan peace process, Dr Abdullah said that Taliban must be pressurised to come to the negotiation table.
The Afghan chief executive did not respond when asked when he would visit Pakistan, as the prime minister had extended an invitation to him last year.
