ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will welcome a representative government in Afghanistan and continue to play its role for peace in the war-ravaged country, the country’s top political and military leaders agreed during a major parliamentary session on Thursday.
Director General Inter-Services Intelligence Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed briefed the parliamentary committee on national security about the country’s regional threat perception, focusing specifically on the situation in Afghanistan, in a session that lasted for more than seven hours.
The country’s top civilian leaders, including federal ministers and opposition politicians, participated in the gathering. However, Prime Minister Imran Khan was not present at the briefing.
Thursday’s in-camera parliamentary session on security issues was arranged against the backdrop of the US decision to pull out its forces from Afghanistan after two decades of war.
Pakistan has already refused to lend military bases to the United States to monitor the situation in Afghanistan.
“Pakistan has played a very positive and responsible role in the Afghan peace process,” the participants of the briefing were told according to a statement released by the country’s information ministry.
“Pakistan’s sincere efforts paved the way for negotiations among various Afghan groups and warring factions. It also helped start meaningful talks between the United States and Taliban,” it added.
Pakistani leadership hoped that sustainable and lasting peace in Afghanistan would lead to greater stability in South Asia.
“Pakistan will welcome a real representative government in Afghanistan and continue to play a responsible role in the Afghan peace process,” the statement continued.
It reiterated that Islamabad would not allow anyone to use Pakistan's soil for conflict in Afghanistan and expected the same from the Afghan administration.
The statement also informed that Pakistan had fenced 90 percent of its border with the war-battered country in its northwest and was devising an effective customs and border control system.
The country’s political leadership also expressed its well wishes for Afghanistan’s peace and prosperity.
The information ministry's statement said the briefing would help Pakistan formulate a robust policy on important national issues with consensus between the civilian and military leadership.
A question-and-answer session was underway after the briefing in which the participants were giving their proposals and recommendations to be incorporated in the national security policy.
