ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Saturday urged the international community to help build capacity of the Afghan interim authorities to take on the threat of “terrorism,” Pakistani state media reported.
The statement by the Pakistani foreign minister came during a panel discussion at the two-day Munich Security Conference being held from February 17 till February 19 to debate international security policy. It is a venue for diplomatic initiatives to address the world’s most pressing security concerns.
Bhutto-Zardari said that if this issue was not taken seriously, militant groups could conduct their activities from Afghanistan as had been witnessed recently from incidents in Pakistan.
“The interim government neither had a standing army, a counter-terrorism force and even a border force, nor have the capacity,” he was quoted as saying by the state-run APP news agency.
“The global community should convince the Afghan interim government to take on the threat of terrorism and demonstrate its will.”
The development comes amid an uptick in militant violence in Pakistan in recent months. Most of these attacks have been claimed by the Pakistani Taliban, who share common lineage and ideals with the Afghan Taliban.
Islamabad has repeatedly demanded the interim Afghan authorities to prevent militant groups from using their soil to launch attacks against other countries.
“Terrorism not only posed threat to immediate neighbors of Afghanistan but also to the West,” Bhutto-Zardari cautioned.
Bhutto-Zardari urged the world to continue its humanitarian support, unfreeze Afghanistan’s assets, open up banking channels and engage with the Taliban, and the Afghan society and women.
“The continuation of economic activities and progress in the war-weary Afghanistan was must for peace and stability and would help the interim Afghan authorities to run affairs of the country,” he added.
