ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid has asserted that Pakistan wants the Afghan government and the opposition to unite and that there is no civil war, reiterating that reconciliation in Afghanistan means peace in Pakistan.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad today (Thursday), the interior minister said Pakistan wanted peace in Afghanistan, suggesting in his personal capacity that other stakeholders, such as Qatar, may also be approached for restoring peace in the war-torn country.
He added that Pakistan expected that no country would use its land against it, just like it had not used its land against another country. “It will not be allowed,” he reiterated.
The minister assured that Pakistan would make all-out efforts to restore peace in Afghanistan. “Our policy should be that peace is ensured in Afghanistan,” he added.
In response to a question regarding the policy with regards to Pakistan’s relations with China and the US, Rashid emphatically said, “We want to have good relations with all, but not at the cost of our relations with China.”
Condemning the Indian Home Ministry for baseless allegation of Pakistan’s role in a drone attack in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), he said India wants to hide its failure in addressing the COVID-19 challenge through such allegations.
“Pakistan wants peace with India, but that is not possible without a solution to the Kashmir issue,” he added. Rashid expressed hope that the PTI would win the upcoming elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Replying to another question, he claimed that there were significant differences between PML-N leaders Maryam Nawaz and Shehbaz Sharif. “They are far apart and their politics is different,” he remarked.
Asked about the recent blast near the residence of Jamaatud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed in Lahore, he said he would give credit to the Punjab police for arresting suspects within a short period of time.
He added that while foreign elements, such as India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), may perpetrate such acts of terrorism to destroy Pakistan’s peace in the future as well, they must realise that the country’s police was now as well-trained as its army.
Rashid further stated that Pakistan’s borders with Afghanistan and Iran had been partly fenced and while the completion of fencing would not rule out the possibility of attacks from the two countries, it would certainly help improve the situation.
