Pakistan will have no favourite in post-NATO Afghanistan

Advisor to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, said Thursday Pakistan has already declared its policy of “No interference, and No Favorites” in Afghanistan in the post 2014 period.

“If all regional countries followed the same policy and resisted the temptation to fill the power vacuum, then Afghanistan would have an historic opportunity to evolve an Afghan led and Afghan owned reconciliation process,” he told a seminar in Islamabad.

Sartaj Aziz will represent the country in Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, in Bishkek next months, the Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.

Pakistan enjoys the observer status in the SCO and is seeking a full membership status.

Sartaj Aziz on Thursday Pakistan wishes to work with SCO in promoting regional harmony by acquiring its full membership.

“The SCO’s policies and programs were in consonance with Pakistan’s long term objectives of promoting peace and stability in the region, contain and eradicate the menace of terrorism from the region and work with members to build stronger and more productive relationship in the future,” he said at the two day International conference on “SCO’s Role In Regional Stability: Prospects for Its Expansion”.

Mr. Aziz said that political observers were looking towards the SCO for its role in Afghanistan after the US withdrawal when there would be a political and security vacuum in that country.

He described China and Russia’s membership and their strategic coordination in the SCO framework, the organization’s attractive principles of strengthening mutual trust, sovereign equality and rejection of hegemony and coercion in international affairs and its focus on issues directly affecting the member states as the strengths of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

He said that SCO’s potential role in linking energy surplus Central Asia with energy deficient South Asia could be a major challenge.

“On its potential role in the future SCO could intensify efforts to combat terrorism, religious extremism, separatism, organised crime, arms and drugs trafficking,” the Pakistani advisor said.

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Posted by Tahir Khan on Aug 29 2013. Filed under Latest News, National, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.