KABUL - Pakistan’s Ambassador to Afghanistan Muhammad Sadiq has talked of Islamabad’s part in bringing stability to the war-torn county.
“Pakistan has been playing an important role in development of Afghanistan as a stable Afghanistan is vital for a stable Pakistan,” Sadiq told TheNation. He said 5,200 Afghans crossed into Pakistan daily in 2009 while the number increased significantly over a year when 44,000 Afghans traversed the border daily.
“Pakistan issues more visas to Afghans than other foreigners and Islamabad does not charge visa fee from Kabul passport holders,” he maintained, adding that under the Islamabad’s longstanding policy of educating Afghan nationals, more than 30,000 Afghan people had attended Pakistan universities and colleges for the last three decades.
“Today, 6,000 Afghan students are enrolled with the Pakistani colleges and universities while half a million Afghan children attend schools in Pakistan.”
Pakistan has constructed educational institutions, including $10 million Allama Iqbal Faculty of Humanities at the Kabul University, $4 million Rahman Baba High School in Kabul and some others in Balkh, Kandahar, Wardak, Baghlan and Herat.
Talking to this scribe, Afghan parliamentarian Fawzia Koofi said Afghanistan had pinned hopes on Pakistan for its greater role in the development of the war-torn country, saying: “We always expect Pakistan to do more in various sectors, especially in the education. We know Pakistan has its own problems but not much have been done in development of Afghanistan on the part of Pakistan.”
Over 80 per cent of Afghans get medical treatment in Pakistani hospitals. Pakistan has been playing a significant role in building health care infrastructure in Afghanistan while the $ 7 million Nishtar Kidney Centre was built in Jalalabad and $20 million 400-bed Jinnah Hospital was established in Kabul in 2011. A $ 20 million 200-bed hospital was also constructed in Logar.
One of the shining examples of Pakistani cooperation with Afghanistan is the construction of 75km Torkham-Jalalabad Road.
“Our neighbours are very important for us. Pakistan has played a significant role in constructing the Torkham-Jalalabad Road,” Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqi said. However, he regretted that the two states could not fix longstanding common problems. “There are conflicts in this region, especially between Pakistan and Afghanistan, and it is sad that though Pakistan has been playing a key role in putting Afghanistan back on the road to development, there are a lot of issues that need to be resolved.”
“We know the people across the border love us and we love them too. But Pakistan is responsible for uprisings in Afghanistan and its destruction,” says Kabul University teacher Ahmed Zia Neekbin. He said: “Pakistan should respect our borders and completely wind up its interference in Afghanistan and prove to be a responsible neighbour.”
Over 100,000 Pakistanis are working across Afghanistan, particularly in Kabul and playing a significant role in the reconstruction of Kabul and other cities of the war-ravaged-country. According to official statistic, the trade volume between Pakistan and Afghanistan stands at $ 2.6 billion while informal trade is estimated at more than $2 billion which is creating over 3.4 million jobs in Pakistan.
Afghanistan is a tremendous market for the Pakistani economy as it allows Pakistani goods and products to be widely available. Political bandits of both states believe that peace is essential for the regional prosperity and Pakistan, being a developed country as compared to Afghanistan, should play a significant role in the process of development of their Afghan brothers.