ISLAMABAD: Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday promised not to allow any country to interfere in Afghanistan’s relations with Pakistan, saying he knew the consequences for his country in such a case.
"We will not allow any country, any government with whom Afghanistan has relations to interfere in our relations with Pakistan or to use our soil against Pakistan," Karzai told newsmen here.
Responding to a question about the recent killing of three Chinese engineers in Hub and the possibility of its linkage with Afghan warlords and the Indian consulates in Afghanistan, he said: "We know the consequences for that for Afghanistan...We will not allow that primarily for the Afghan interests and for the interest of Pakistan."
Karzai said there were no more warlords in Afghanistan and the last of them began to disappear after 2004. He added the writ of government was gradually being established but the country still suffered a lot in terms of delivering services, after 30 years of war.
Responding to a question about al-Qaeda militants, the Afghan president said that they had no bases anymore and were scattered around the world. On the offer of fencing of the border by Pakistan, he said it will separate the peoples in two countries. "We can fight terrorism more effectively by going to the sources, by going where they get trained, finding their training camps, removing them, stopping the equipment that reaches them, and if there is such a thing in Afghanistan or Pakistan we should do it," he added.
President Karzai called for an intensive and vigorous fight against terrorism and said in his discussions with President Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz both sides agreed to maintain close liaison for the good of the two countries.
When asked about reports of high-value targets in the region, he said in Afghanistan, there was a need to intensify the exchange of information in the days to come. About dialogue with the Taliban, President Karzai said the government had launched a peace programme, headed by former president Mujaddadi, and all those Taliban who are not part of al-Qaeda or any terrorist ring have been asked to return and can find jobs in the government or other institutions.
He cited the example of Taliban leader Maulvi Arsala Rehmani, who returned and was welcomed. He, however, made it clear that the offer was only for those not involved in the killing of the Afghan or the Pakistani people.
Karzai said the offer is "definitely not" for former Taliban leader Mulla Omar. "He has to answer to the Afghan people, to the Muslims for the crimes against Islam, to stop the children of the Ummah from going to schools, preventing them from getting education, beating Muslim women on streets and stopping Muslims from prospering. He is a criminal of Afghanistan for committing un-Islamic acts."
Karzai said drugs were a major issue but after a long period of misery the people were desperate. He said it was not merely an Afghan problem but had international influences that required concerted efforts by all.
Meanwhile, in an interview with The Associated Press, Karzai warned the neighbouring nations to stop meddling in Afghan affairs, or risk seeing chaos spread from a destabilised Afghanistan across the region. "Afghans have had enough of conflict and foreign interference," he said.
He promised that further interference in his homeland will not go unchallenged and warned that Iran, Pakistan and others are not fooling anyone. "We know (interference) is going on. We know that money is being brought into Afghanistan. It will not have the impact that they want it to have, not for Afghanistan and not for themselves, so they had better stop," Karzai said. "If they don’t stop, the consequences will be exactly what I said earlier. The consequences will be that this region will suffer with us, equally, as we suffer. In the past we suffered alone. This time everybody will suffer with us."
Karzai said he felt a sense of contentment with the progress his country has made since the collapse of the Taliban regime at the end of 2001. But he spoke with concern about outside attempts to manipulate Afghanistan’s ethnic and religious groups and the dangers of encouraging discord in tumultuous south-central Asia.
"Any effort to divide Afghanistan ethnically or weaken it will create exactly the same things in the neighbouring countries. All the countries in this neighbourhood have the same ethnic groups that we have, so they should know that it is a different ball game this time," he said, adding: "We are determined. It is not going to be Pakistan playing the Pashtun, non-Pashtun game in Afghanistan. It is not going to be Iran playing this or that game or any other country. We can play the same game with a lot more historical power, with a lot more power in our history than others can. They should know that very well."
Reflecting on Afghanistan’s recent violence, and the manipulations of its neighbours, the president said his people are stronger now and know better how to face up to foreign interference. "It won’t work this time. Afghanistan has an ownership. I told you we will not be refugees again. We own this country. Afghanistan has a voice now," Karzai said.
"The past is gone. We were unaware: The Soviets came, invaded us and we went out of Afghanistan to defend our country. We defended our country and that was right, but we made a mistake by leaving our country. It was one of the biggest mistakes we made, leaving the country."
Talking without aides at the presidential palace, Karzai was passionate about Afghanistan’s future and his determination to protect his country. "The United States, Pakistan, Iran and everybody should know that this time Afghans will not become refugees. I would be one of those Afghans who would not become a refugee again," he said. "It has to be very, very clear. That is why I am talking so clear. This is my conscience speaking, the conscience of an Afghan person." |
