Re “Time to Put the Squeeze on Pakistan”
(editorial, May 12): Pakistan
cannot be held responsible for the mess in Afghanistan,
which is the result of the collective failure of the international community
and Afghanistan’s
internal dynamics.
Allegations of duplicity are extremely painful, especially when Pakistan has suffered the most because of the
war in Afghanistan.
Hundreds of suicide bombings and tens of thousands of civilian casualties are
the direct result of continued instability in Afghanistan.
Instead of complaining about the heavy cost imposed on us, Pakistan has consistently cooperated with the United States
and coalition forces in sharing intelligence and decimating the terror outfits
operating from the region.
Instead of putting the blame on Pakistan, it would have been better
had the editorial also commented on the protracted Afghan refugee issue and the
lack of border management as among the underlying reasons for regional
instability.
Pakistan does not benefit from instability in Afghanistan. We
wish its people peace and prosperity. To this end, we are pursuing mutually
beneficial economic integration. This month our leaders inaugurated the
CASA-1000 electricity transmission project, which will bring Pakistan and Afghanistan closer.
The Quadrilateral Coordination Group — consisting of the United States and China
in addition to Pakistan and Afghanistan — has rightly agreed that long-term
peace in Afghanistan
can be achieved only through reconciliation between the various Afghan
stakeholders. It is imperative that this peace initiative be given a chance to
succeed in achieving what war has failed to in the last 15 years.
NADEEM HOTIANA
Press Attaché, Embassy of Pakistan
Washington
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