Karzai warns against Indo-Pak proxy war

Islamabad, 11 March: Afghan President Hamid Karzai has described India as a “very close friend” and Pakistan as a “brother” and said his country doesn’t want to become a battleground for proxy wars between India and Pakistan or Iran and the US.

On a visit to Islamabad, Karzai told a joint press conference with Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani after talks today that he would not allow Afghanistan’s territory to be used against any country. “Afghanistan does not want any proxy wars on its territory — it does not want a proxy war between India and Pakistan on Afghanistan, it doesn’t want a proxy war between Iran and the United States.”

Karzai arrived last evening for talks with Pakistani officials, days after Kabul demanded the extradition of a top Taliban commander, Mulla Baradar, who was arrested from the port city of Karachi last month.

“India and Afghanistan have very close friendly relations,” he said, adding that India has gone out of its way to help reconstruction in Afghanistan. But in a quick balancing act, he declared that “Pakistan is brother of Afghanistan”. “We are twin brothers and there cannot be a separation between us. We in Afghanistan are fully aware and recognise that without Pakistan, Afghanistan cannot be stable and peaceful.”

It is also recognised, he said, that there could not be stability or peace in Pakistan without a stable and peaceful Afghanistan.

Karzai, whose administration has long been accusing Pakistan of not doing enough to curb cross-border infiltration and incursions by the Taliban and al Qaida-linked militants, pledged to take action on any information about Afghanistan’s soil being used by any country, including India, against other neighbouring states. Islamabad has accused India of fomenting in its western provinces, a charge New Delhi denies.

Karzai dubbed terrorism a common enemy, saying “suffering in one country will definitely lead to sufferings in the other country”.

Prime Minister Gilani promised Karzai full support in encouraging an Afghan-led reconciliation and reintegration. Pakistan has repeatedly said it is for Kabul to decide how it would like to move ahead with the process, and has denied the possibility of any mediatory role between the Taliban and the Afghan government.


Nasir Jaffry, The Telegraph