Shazia Mehboob
Islamabad.
A regional approach including all neighbours is the only way forward to harness peace in the war-torn Afghanistan, Lt Gen (retd) Asif Yasin said on Wednesday.
Yasin was speaking at the 15th Pak-Afghan Youth Dialogue—a youth initiative by Afghan Studies Centre (ASC) and a peace building step, aimed at mitigating the existing misunderstandings and misperceptions across both borders, held here at the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS).
The former army general said Pakistan was mired with external and internal controversies but was still making progress, which was a positive sign.
He further said that a large population of Pakistan and Afghanistan was a victim of poverty and ignorance, adding this huge human resource can be used for productive activities.
Referring the recent political transformation in the country, he said that though Pakistan was mired in external and internal controversies but it was still making progress.
Responding a question, Yasin said like other states in the world, Pak-Afghan relations are in a transitional phase.
The guest speaker said Afghanistan was a victim of war since the Soviet invasion. The people of Afghanistan have tested democracy and they would only like to march forward. Their experience of democracy is the biggest challenge for the anti-democratic forces in Afghanistan, he further said.
Yasin advised the youth of both the countries to keep a peace with yourself, adding that the best knowledge is with you not with your friends, relatives and others.
ISIS and other transnational terrorists are enemies of both Pakistan and Afghanistan and we will have to fight against our joint enemies, the retired military officer said.
“We will have to sit together and negotiate how we can defeat our joint enemy,” Yasin further said. Talking about shift in regional and international alliances, the former military man said nothing was permanent in this anarchical international system. Iran was once a strong ally of the US and today, they are enemy of each other, he briefed.
Talking about external pressures on Pakistan and Afghanistan, Yasin said due to their strategic location, every alignment and realignment leaves implications for both the countries.
Lt General Asif Yasin Malik believes the APAPPS framework manifests the intent from both sides to work together now and seek solutions to issues of mutual concern. The most promising factor about APAPPS is its exclusive Pak-Afghan bilateralism, he said.
China is rising in the international power game while Moscow, on the other hand, is flexing its muscles again, faced further by the threat of the ideological spill-over from Afghanistan. On the other hand, once a most trusted ally of the US, Turkey, too, is now at daggers drawn with the Trump regime while Iran continues to face extreme US hostility. All of this places Pakistan and Afghanistan in a catch-22 situation, calling for extreme caution as they, too, have to opt for options that are sustainable and fruitful.
As mentioned as the top principle of APAPPS, Pakistan supports an Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace process. Lt Gen Asif Yasin stated, with that, a regional approach including all the neighbours is the only way forward to harness peace in war-torn country.
A large number of students from Pakistan and Afghanistan participated in the dialogue session. Saima Batool, a student from GB, Pakistan, suggested Pak-Afghan official quarters to engage youth in a constructive way to improve their bilateral relations.
