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Thank you, Mr. President for convening this important meeting. We always appreciate your country’s stand on the issue of Afghanistan and of course the importance of discussing the Secretary General’s quarterly report, which has seemingly become traditional.
I would like to thank the Permanent Representative of Turkey Ambassador Apakan, for having led the Security Council’s Mission to Afghanistan and to thank Mr. Zahir Tanin, Permanent Representative of Afghanistan for his lucid and very fair comments early today and welcome Steffan de Mistura, the SRSG who certainly brings lot of experience and lot of hope into the UN’s work in Afghanistan.
It is the fourth decade of conflict and tragedy in Afghanistan and I think the international community must take greater retrospective look into what is emerging there and review what it needs to take us towards better understanding for a better tomorrow for Afghanistan. Pakistan, needless to say, has very vital stakes in neighbour, as its affects and impacts equally Pakistan in all directions.
The latest report provides useful information on reintegration and the reconciliation process in Afghanistan. It outlines the complexity of the security situation and it identifies challenges of development and governance as well as preparations for the forthcoming elections. I need not emphasize that the people of Afghanistan also look forward the great deal to this vast sea of change, which should emerge more lucidly in the next few months.
We believe a stable government in Afghanistan, supported by the international community and supported by its own people is in the vital interest of the peaceful future in the region.
We believe that the Consultative Peace Jirga, which was attended by 1,600 people is not much mentioned here today, deserve recognition of the international community that how important the discourse and their conclusions and recommendations and suggestions are. We support the intra-Afghan led dialogue as the singular most important ownership of this entire process that we discuss around the table here today and the communiqué issued by the Peace Jirga to formulate a national strategy for sustainable peace is a very important document which needs further enlightenment here in this hall.
The forthcoming parliamentary elections, without saying otherwise, I believe play a very important role in what will emerge in Afghanistan and I believe that UNAMA has a critical and key role to play at this stage in creating the credibility, which will make this acceptable to all of us which is so important at this stage and to so many around the world.
We know that the Afghanistan challenge has been insecurity driven by insurgency and its exploitation by criminals and drug traffickers, which are in abundance everywhere and around the world. The Secretary-General’s report notes no great improvement in this category and this is regrettable. But stereotyping or disappointment also becomes regrettable. We must be more understanding. We must try to understand from the perspective of where it works. I digress here with your kind indulgence Mr. President, it much like a tyre or a tube that burst on a bicycle and we seem to be busy not getting fresh air into the tube but in fact trying to repair the pump that to bring the fresh air. That becomes always something which costs a lot more and creates less of a focus and impact, and this is happening somewhat with great regret. We must avoid this complacency and what all can be achieved by us and what has really been achieved by us. I feel any real discernment on that ground will prove that we have been a little too complacent.
In his last report the Secretary-General had noted that we must resolve to implement “a political reform that addresses the root causes of the insurgency, including through efforts aimed at improving governance and an Afghan led political process to re-establish peace”. I believe we have yet to start out and doing something concrete in this direction. The present report emphasizes developing the security sector that requires an overarching framework that includes a national threat assessment, which is basis for Afghan national security policy and concomitant strategy”. At this particular stage, I would like to say that the normal answer to this sort of thing is two fold: one, let us start on capacity building of the Afghan National Army and Police institutions and two, let us talk to the insurgents i.e. the Taliban. I believe that as far as latter is concerned, any one who should talks to the Taliban, I must stress in this august body that it must be a list provided by President Karzai who knows better whom to talk with in the interest of Afghanistan and the international community and as far as the Afghan National Army is concerned, I will say here, Mr. President, without any doubt in my mind that in a society that does not understand the Central Federal leadership, as easily as we do and in other parts of the word there and I quote Brazezinski, who ably put it and supported by Prince that “you have to understand that regional loyalties play an important role”. In my own country and in the country of my friend, the Ambassador of India, very often when regiment were raised by British we had regional loyalties. We had Sikh Army, the Frontier Forces, the Baloch Army, the Marhatas. You can go on and on. There were certain loyalties which come with that. It did not impede from getting loyalties, but it worked. I think that should be understood here and it will be understood if we bring up from absolute base those loyalties at local levels that can then create a stronger national army and protect and be more success.
I would like to recognize specifically the role of UNAMA, ably led by the Secretary General Special Representative Steffan de Mistura and about the Security Council resolutions for expanding its presence. It is fine, I think it was talked before, it has not happened yet, we hope to see it happen. And one of the greatest thing, that I would admire him and it is within his capabilities that he works with confidence of President Karzai. It is so important at this stage for some sort of unanimity to commend.
The London Conference, I believe that the implementation of the Afghanistan National Development Strategy is going to be something very important, but again as I have mentioned earlier we must ensure that funding reaches to the levels it is meant for, so people can find benefits and take substantial conciliation and comfort that the international community cares.
UNAMA must leverage this advantage to further streamline result-oriented activities specifically in areas of Security, reintegration/ reconciliation, regional cooperation and reconstruction/development, especially at local/grassroots-level.
Mr. President,
Pakistan is very committed to further strengthening our friendly bilateral ties with Afghanistan, in the spirit of the Joint Declaration on Directions of Bilateral Cooperation, signed by our two Presidents in 2009. In March 2010, our two countries signed the Joint Declaration on Next Steps in Comprehensive Cooperation. Our assistance package for Afghanistan is the biggest cooperation programme Pakistan has with any country. Our bilateral trade has recorded steady growth. Pakistan had doubled the number of its scholarships for Afghan students. Additionally, 6,000 Afghan students are pursuing higher education in Pakistan and 400,000 children of Afghan refugees in Pakistan are benefiting from free of cost state-provided educational facilities in the country.
We are also engaged in security and intelligence cooperation with Afghanistan, including through the Tripartite Commission, which also includes the United States and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). We are also engaged in trilateral process of engagement with the Afghan and Turkish Governments.
We are committed to a voluntary, gradual, safe and dignified return of nearly three million Afghan refugees that still live in Pakistan, but there is a need for more diligent and sustained efforts at creating necessary pull-factors in Afghanistan. We would stress the need of strengthening reintegration programmes for refugees within Afghanistan's development strategy. We expect the United Nations and the international community to assist in this endeavour.
Mr. President,
As the International Community is nearing completion of one decade of engagement with Afghanistan, a call for introspection and a genuine reappraisal of achievements and failures is required. Afghanistan needs sustained engagement of international community without interference in its internal affairs.
I would conclude by reiterating that long-term objectives of peace, stability and development in Afghanistan can only be realized by respecting its sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity.
Thank you.