Stable Kabul is key to prosperity in Asia, says president Ghani
AFGHANISTAN president Ashraf Ghani said China and India are key to the region’s prosperity as he urged Pakistan to make the right “choice”.
In an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria which aired last Sunday (18), Ghani said Afghanistan’s neighbours could “connect to Central Asia through us, share in the joint prosperity through the partnership for peace, gain international credibility and support that they’re all in need of, or opt for chaos”.
While Pakistan’s leaders “all acknowledge that they do not want the Taliban government in Afghanistan, that they would like to see a peaceful, stable, democratic government in the war-torn country”, Ghani cautioned that the country that would be most damaged by insecurity or a renewed civil war in Afghanistan was Pakistan.
“We are key to their prosperity. The rate of growth in Afghanistan could enhance by two per cent in a stable and connected Afghanistan, we have to work together,” he said. “It’s a moment of choice for Pakistan. All its calculations have been wrong.”
Afghanistan has in the past accused Pakistan of providing safe havens for terror groups that target its territory, especially the Afghan Taliban, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and the Haqqani group. “Pakistan can become an anchor of regional stability if it opts for peace in regional cooperation,” he added.
“All of us are strong stakeholders not to get involved. And for Afghanistan, we do not want a replacement in terms of seeking to replace the United States and NATO with some form of patronage. We want to have a multialigned policy where we are friends with everybody and not part of their quarrels, and hence our agenda of permanent neutrality that will benefit everybody,” Ghani said.
“For the Taliban and for Pakistan, it’s a moment of choice. Will they opt to become a credible international stakeholder, with rules of game for a peaceful part of Asia and connectivity, or for opting for chaos?”
“Equally for the Taliban, the major excuse that this is a war to get the international forces out of Afghanistan is over. There is no religious justification left for the war. Political settlement is a must. But the ball clearly is in the court of Taliban,” Ghani said.
US president Joe Biden said India, Pakistan, Russia, China, and Turkey have a significant stake in the stable future of Afghanistan.