ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Monday it had conveyed its “serious concerns” to Afghanistan over what it called “irresponsible statements and baseless allegations made by the Afghan leadership.”
The statement from the foreign office was a veiled reference to an interview last week by President Ashraf Ghani in which he said Pakistan operated “an organized system of support” for the Afghan Taliban.
“Pakistan has emphasized that groundless accusations erode trust and vitiate the environment between the two brotherly countries and disregard constructive role being played by Pakistan in facilitating the Afghan peace process,” the foreign office said. “The Afghan side has been urged to effectively utilize the available forums like Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) to address all bilateral issues.”
The Kabul government and Taliban representatives began negotiations in September last year to find a way to end decades of war. But the talks stalled after a few rounds and violence has escalated since the United States started a final pullout of troops from Afghanistan on May 1.
Afghanistan and the United States are both relying on what they say is Pakistan’s ‘influence’ over the Taliban to keep the insurgent group engaged in peace talks.
“Pakistan operates an organized system of support. The Taliban receive logistics there, their finances are there and recruitment is there,” Ghani said in an interview to Der Spiegel on May 14. “The names of the various decision-making bodies of the Taliban are Quetta Shoura, Miramshah Shoura and Peshawar Shoura – named after the Pakistani cities where they are located. There is a deep relationship with the state.”
Pakistan expresses ‘serious concern’ days after Ghani alleges Taliban’s ‘deep’ ties with Islamabad
https://arab.news/6a94p
Pakistan expresses ‘serious concern’ days after Ghani alleges Taliban’s ‘deep’ ties with Islamabad
- Foreign office says groundless accusations erode trust, disregard constructive role being by Pakistan in facilitating Afghan peace
- In May 14 interview, Afghan president Ghani said Pakistan operates “organized system of support” for Afghan Taliban
UK says Pakistan regulatory overhaul to yield £1 billion a year as Islamabad launches reform drive
- Britain says it worked with Pakistan on 472 proposed reforms to streamline business rules across key sectors
- PM Shehbaz Sharif says Pakistan has stabilized economy and now aims to attract investment by cutting red tape
ISLAMABAD: Britain’s development minister Jenny Chapman said on Saturday Pakistan’s sweeping new regulatory overhaul could generate economic gains of nearly £1 billion a year, as Islamabad formally launched the reform package aimed at cutting red tape and attracting foreign investment.
The initiative, driven by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government and the Board of Investment, aims to introduce legislative changes and procedural reforms designed to streamline approvals, digitize documentation and remove outdated business regulations.
Chapman said the UK had worked with Pakistan on 472 reform proposals as part of its support to help the country shift from economic stabilization to sustained growth.
“These reforms will break down barriers to investment, eliminate more than 600,000 paper documents, and save over 23,000 hours of labor every year for commercial approvals,” Chapman said at the launch ceremony in the presence of Sharif and his team. “The first two packages alone could have an economic impact of up to 300 billion Pakistani rupees annually — nearly one billion pounds — with more benefits to come.”
Addressing the ceremony, the prime minister said the reforms were central to Pakistan’s effort to rebuild investor confidence after the country narrowly avoided financial default in recent years.
“Our economy was in a very difficult situation when we took office,” he said. “But we did not lose hope, and today Pakistan is economically out of the woods. Now we are focused on growing our economy and attracting foreign investment.”
He described the new regulatory framework as a “quantum jump” that would reduce corruption, speed up approvals and remove longstanding procedural hurdles that have discouraged businesses.
Chapman told the audience that more than 200 British companies operate in Pakistan, with the largest six contributing around one percent of Pakistan’s GDP.
She said the UK saw Pakistan as a partner rather than a recipient of aid.
“Modern partners work together not as donors but as investors, bringing all our strengths to the table,” she said, adding that the reforms would make Pakistani exports more competitive and encourage UK firms to expand their footprint.
Sharif highlighted the role of the British Pakistani diaspora and said Pakistan hoped to unlock more private capital by engaging diaspora entrepreneurs and financial institutions in the UK.
