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Mr. President,
Thank you for convening this important debate. We commend you for your able stewardship of the Council.
We are grateful for Ambassador Zahir Tanin for his statement
We also thank SRSG Jan Kubis for his presentation in the Security Council today. Under his able leadership, UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) is implementing a challenging mandate.
Pakistan has always supported and facilitated the work of UNAMA. We will continue to do so.
Since its inception, UNAMA has led international state building efforts in Afghanistan. As Afghan institutions come of age, complete national ownership will be essential for further consolidation of statehood.
We look forward to an increasingly effective role of Afghan leadership in consolidating their institutions and transitioning to full responsibilities in all sectors.
With a reviewed mandate, UNAMA should continue to align itself with the Transition Process. To an extent, UNAMA’s success will depend on our collective work in the Security Council.
The Security Council must enable UNAMA to accomplish its goals by the clarity of mandates -- based on current and emerging realities. UNAMA should not be used to impose concepts and values alien to Afghanistan. We must, therefore, pay closer attention to the aspirations of Afghanistan’s leaders as well as the sentiments of its people.
Mr. President,
The Secretary General’s report under consideration today, provides useful updates on the situation in Afghanistan. It has documented progress in Transition Process against pre-identified benchmarks. The Secretary General has rightly observed that progress in governance; development and sustainable transition of security responsibilities is fundamentally inter-linked.
The Secretary General’s report has also highlighted fiscal sustainability and potential funding gaps to meet various targets in transition. He has also cautioned against donor-fatigue and fiscal constraints in international economic climate.
Pakistan would underline the need for maintaining the current political and financial interest in the Transition Process with a view to setting Afghanistan on a sustainable course. The value of long-term international support and private sector investment in facilitating the transition cannot be over-emphasized.
Mr. President,
Pakistan is committed to peace, stability and development in Afghanistan. As agreed by our two Foreign Ministers in Kabul on 1 February 2012 in the Joint Communiqué, “strong, robust and independent bilateral relationship between the two countries would greatly contribute to peace and stability in the region”.
Our two countries are deepening interaction in diverse fields including security, development, transit trade, economic and investment linkages as well as infrastructure and energy.
Our documented bilateral trade has reached US$ 2.5 billion and the target set by our leadership to double it by 2015 is well within reach. Our bilateral assistance to Afghanistan is more than we are providing to any other country.
Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Economic Commission met in Islamabad last month to discuss modalities and timelines of various trans-regional economic projects.
Our scholarship programme for facilitating higher education for Afghan students in Pakistan continues. More than 1400 Afghan students have benefitted so far from the programme, while some 7000 are enrolled in Pakistani universities and professional colleges.
High-level contacts between Pakistan and Afghanistan are driving our bilateral cooperation. We were privileged to receive the Afghan President for the trilateral Summit in Islamabad last month together with the President of Iran. As mentioned earlier, our Foreign Minister visited Kabul last month. Parliamentary exchanges between the two countries are strengthening mutual understanding and goodwill.
In the area of security, Pakistan has always sought closer engagement with Afghanistan and its international partners on real issues, which lie beyond polemics. Interdiction of illegal cross border movement is vital to counter terrorism, drug trafficking and commercial smuggling. This is a joint responsibility, which needs to be discharged more vigorously. Pakistan has established over 1000 posts along its border with Afghanistan. More than 120,000 Pakistani troops are deployed on our side of the border, at considerable financial cost. This needs to be matched on the other side of the international border..
In a country suffering from four decades of war, the vexing question of security cannot be resolved by externalization of the problem or by imposing another war. Military action cannot solve problems. We only disregard the lessons of history at our peril. A comprehensive approach, under complete Afghan ownership, is essential to address this challenge.
Pakistan has always supported an Afghan-led and inclusive reconciliation process. The Prime Minister of Pakistan, in response to an unprecedented appeal from the President of Afghanistan, issued an important statement on 24 February 2012 to reiterate our long-standing support for reconciliation in Afghanistan.
Allow me to quote some excerpts of the Prime Minister’s statement:
“Pakistan firmly believes that respect for Afghanistan’s sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity as well as adherence to the principles of non-interference in internal affairs of Afghanistan are of critical importance”.
“We also believe that process of national reconciliation must be Afghan-led and Afghan-owned. It is imperative to promote an intra-Afghan consensus for durable political settlement that accords with the aspirations of the people of Afghanistan, as a whole”.
“It is now time to turn a new leaf and open a new chapter in the history of Afghanistan. It is time to now combine the strengths of the Afghan people in a true spirit of our noble religion – Islam and in accordance with glorious traditions of the Afghans to build peace and bring prosperity to Afghanistan”.
“In this spirit, I would like to appeal to the Taliban leadership as well as to all other Afghan groups, including Hizb-e-Islami to participate in an intra-Afghan process for national reconciliation and peace”.
“It is our sincere hope that the Taliban leadership, Hizb-e-Islami and all other political leaders will respond positively to my appeal agree to enter into direct negotiations in the framework of an intra-Afghan process for reconciliation and peace in Afghanistan”.
“Pakistan, on its part, will support such authentic Afghan process and is prepared to do whatever it can for its success”.
“I would like to appeal to the international community to support fully, national reconciliation and peace in Afghanistan”.
“We are appreciative of the important initiative taken by President Hamid Karzai and wish the intra-Afghan process every success”.Unquote
Mr. President,
I will conclude by highlighting two issues of great importance that I hope will be duly prioritized in the work of SRSG Kubis and in our collective deliberations on Afghanistan
Firstly -- Afghanistan’s drug situation, which is a serious and growing challenge not only for Afghanistan but also for the rest of the world. Our collective goal must be complete eradication of poppy cultivation in Afghanistan and progressive elimination of manufacturing and trafficking of its higher derivatives. We need to pay more attention to this issue, which, regrettably, has worsened recently. Pakistan will also support regional efforts and initiatives to counter this threat.
Another issue is the presence of a large number of Afghan refugees in Pakistan and Iran. We would like to remind the Council, that during the last ten years, Pakistan’s average annual budget for Afghan refugees has nearly doubled in proportion with international assistance, despite decrease in the number of refugees. After ten years of internationally assisted state and institution building in Afghanistan, this trend should be reversed and more refugees should be repatriated. We urge greater international focus on the issue and hope that the forthcoming conference in Switzerland would be a success. I will also urge the SRSG to record the trends and figures relating to return or otherwise of Afghan refugee in his quarterly reports on a regular basis.
I thank you Mr. President