Kabul must focus on improving security: Maleeha
new york — Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN Maleeha Lodhi has urged the Afghan government to focus on overcoming the deteriorating situation in the war-torn country instead of blaming Islamabad for every incident.
“We are ready to help address the shared threat of violent extremists to the region but Afghanistan should desist from externalising its internal problems,” the Ambassador to the UN told Voice of America.
“The surge in violence in Afghanistan seems to indicate the spreading influence of Daesh, about which we have long warned,” she said, adding that the rapid slide in the security situation is troubling not only for Afghanistan but also all its neighbours.
Referring to the May 31 truck explosion that killed nearly 100 people near the foreign embassies, Lodhi said: “The ability of violent groups to infiltrate Kabul’s green zone also suggests insider connections which are even more worrying.”
Recalling that Pakistan had strongly condemned the recent terrorist attacks in Kabul, she said, “The rapid slide in the security situation is troubling not only for Afghanistan but for all its neighbours, especially Pakistan.”
Those attacks, she said, also seemed to be aimed at scuttling plans for initiating a renewed peace and reconciliation effort by elements opposed to the process.
“But whoever may be responsible for the latest spate of brutal attacks, the Afghan government would better to focus on this growing threat rather than hurl baseless accusations against Pakistan,” Ambassador Lodhi said.
“The timing of the attacks on Kabul suggests those who carried them out want to sabotage any renewed effort towards a negotiated peace.” She added, “Terrorism and violent extremism are a common enemy and need a joint resolve to fight it.”
Meanwhile, the UN envoy to Afghanistan called for measures to halt the cycle of violence following Wednesday’s deadly attack. — APP