Afghanistan a failed state, says Owais

ISLAMABAD  - Responsible Departments of National Security on Monday made it clear to ISAF that they will give a befitting response to any border and air violation in future. Military sources told Online that it has been made crystal-clear to US military leadership and NATO Commander in Afghanistan that Pakistan will never allow foreign interference in their territory. "Despite being a key ally in war against terror, our borders are being bombed and our sovereignty being challenged and such incidents would not be tolerated. Such incidents are not only infuriating the security forces but also the Pakistani people", the sources added. It was further told that a wave of fear has gripped the people urging that it is responsibility of all the allies to control terrorism at Pak-Afghan border. Military sources continued that after a high-level meeting of National Security departments, held a few days back, the NATO and Afghan forces commander were told that looming threat of terrorism was not a responsibility of Pakistan, however joint efforts were required and in the future if Pakistani posts were attacked and bombed than the NATO forces would be given a befitting response. Sources told a few days back when allied forces fired at Pakistani post in Angoor Adda the armed forces responded promptly as a result of which more than 4 NATO troops of were killed or injured. Monitoring Desk adds: NWFP Governor Owais Ghani has said that US airstrikes in the country's troubled tribal belt are "seriously undermining" public support for the government, and he warned Washington not to intensify air raids on militant's hideouts in Pakistan. Talking to BBC on Monday, Owais Ghani said such actions could make it impossible for the government to keep struggling against militancy. The US is frustrated with what they see as insufficient efforts by Islamabad to fight militants on the Afghan border. That has fuelled Pakistani concerns of increased US intervention. The provincial governor said that he would be "deeply concerned" about any increase in unilateral US airstrikes in tribal areas. "This has a great backlash in the public sentiment, public opinion," he said. "It seriously undermines the much needed backing of the population. "Therefore it is very, very undesirable, and if it continues I think the pressure is already building up. If that goes beyond a certain point and people react, no government, political or military, will be able to continue. So I think that it's very important they understand the implications." Ghani repeated Pakistani complaints that it was in fact Nato and Afghan forces that were not pulling their weight in monitoring the long and mountainous frontier. He said that Pakistani check posts outnumbered those on the Afghan side by 10 to one, and complained that Afghanistan refused Pakistani offers to fence the border. He also countered American and Afghan assertions that Taliban sanctuaries in the tribal areas were the main factor fuelling the Afghan insurgency. He pointed to the thriving opium trade and the weakness of social and political structures inside Afghanistan. "Today Afghanistan is a narco-state, that itself is a huge contributor of instability in Afghanistan." Ghani said Afghanistan was "a failed state now, which means it's a long term problem." "Placing all the blame at Pakistan's doorstep is wrong." Stability between the two countries was linked, he argued, and there would be no peace in the tribal areas without peace in Afghanistan, which required talking to the Taliban. "The bottom line is simple," he said, "that all Afghan power groups, irrespective of the length of their beards, are given due political space, they need that political share."

ePaper - Nawaiwaqt