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Nawaz Sharif’s Dismissal Fuels Hope for Afghans to Have Better Ties with Pakistan
Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif’s dismissal has generated a high level of optimism for Afghan government, with some hailing it as the beginning of a new era in the often acrimonious bilateral relationship.
Pakistan’s Supreme Court toppled Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who resigned after the court ruled he was unfit to hold office and ordered a criminal investigation into his family over corruption allegations.
“We want the next Pakistani government to have a government-oriented relation with Afghanistan and expect practical steps in elimination of terrorist safe havens in its soil,” said Ahmad Shekib Mustaghni, spokesman of Afghan Foreign Ministry.
While Sharif’s government managed to survive, it had to pay the price in the form of ceding space to the army on crucial policy issues including the China Pakistan Economic Corridor where Army’s Fauji Foundation is expected to mint more money than any other Pakistani business.
Sharif always has had a tenuous relationship with the army chiefs that he appointed — remember one General Parvez Musharraf who had overthrown him in his coup — but the fact that he managed to sail through General Kayani and Sharif, had offered him a unique chance to become the only civilian prime minister to complete his terms. But his past has now caught up with him.
Analyst are said to believe that Afghanistan now has the great opportunity to complaint against Pakistan in international summits and reduce global support from Pakistan.
Afghan Parliament Member, Aziza Jaliz expressed pessimism over having a better relation with Pakistan. “We do not hope to have a new and better ties with Pakistan.”
President Ghani–in contrast to his early days as president when an Af-Pak rapprochement seemed possible, or at least closer to possible than under Karzai–has long since abandoned the pretense of bonhomie toward Islamabad. With each new horrific attack in Afghanistan, particularly attacks targeting civilians in urban areas, Ghani has reiterated his calls for Pakistan to do more to deal with terrorist safe havens within its borders.
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Girls’ education is a ‘vital issue’ for Afghanistan: Karzai
Former president Hamid Karzai said in a meeting with Iran’s ambassador and special representative, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, that education of girls was a “vital issue” for Afghanistan.
Karzai said he appreciated Iran’s cooperation and its standing with the Afghan people, especially Iran’s contributions to education in Afghanistan.
During the meeting, Karzai said peace and stability in the region are in the interest of all regional countries.
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Uzbekistan’s humanitarian aid arrives in Balkh
A shipment of humanitarian aid from Uzbekistan was handed over on Thursday to the local officials of Balkh province in the trade port of Hairatan.
Local authorities said the aid, which includes flour, oil, wheat, sugar and meat, has been handed over by Uzbekistan’s Surkhandarya governor to the governor of Balkh.
The governor of Surkhandarya stated the purpose of sending this aid was to support the people of Afghanistan and stressed the need for the development of good relations between the two countries.
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Afghanistan’s problems caused more damage to Pakistan than 3 wars with India: Durrani
Islamabad’s special envoy for Afghanistan Asif Durrani said on Wednesday that Pakistan has suffered more due to Afghanistan’s internal situation than Pakistan has suffered in three wars with India in terms of blood spilt and finances drained.
Durrani said at a one-day International Conference titled “Pakistan in the Emerging Geopolitical Landscape”, which was organized by the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) and the German Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), that over 80,000 Pakistanis died in the two decades of the War on Terror and that his country was still counting its dead and injured.
“After the withdrawal of NATO forces, it was hoped that peace in Afghanistan would bring peace to the region. However, such expectations were short-lived,” he said.
He also stated that attacks by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant group on Pakistan’s border areas increased by 65 percent, while suicide attacks increased by 500 percent.
“The TTP’s enhanced attacks on Pakistan while using Afghan soil have been a serious concern for Pakistan. Another worrying aspect is the participation of Afghan nationals in these attacks,” he said.
Durrani also said Pakistan had suffered geopolitically since the Soviet Union invaded the neighboring country.
“The post-9/11 world order has negatively impacted Pakistan. Apart from losing 80,000 citizens’ lives, including 8,000 law enforcement agency personnel, the country’s economic opportunity cost is estimated at $150 billion,” Durrani said.
Talking about the future outlook for Pakistan in the regional context, Durrani said that while “our eastern neighbor is likely to continue with its anti-Pakistan pursuits, the western border poses an avoidable irritant in the short to medium term.”
However, he said Pakistan can overcome its difficulties with Afghanistan, including the TTP challenge.
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