By: KeerthiMohan
Afghanistan is still reeling from a series of attacks that hit the nation in the past few weeks, and Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani feels Pakistan should take stringent measures to stop the Taliban from working out of its soil.
In a televised speech to the nation, Ghani said slammed Pakistan for supporting Taliban and said the center of Taliban terrorism is in Pakistan. Reportedly, Afghanistan has presented to Islamabad evidence of Pakistan’s involvement in Taliban attacks. Arrested insurgents are said to have admitted to being trained in Islamic seminaries in Pakistan.
“The Afghan nation is waiting for clear action” from Pakistan, said Ghani.
The United States has also been blaming Pakistan for providing terrorists safe havens on its soil, and on Friday, the United States Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan emphasized that eliminating terrorists’ safe havens was important to overcome the conflict in Afghanistan.
“We have made clear to the Pakistani government our expectations for them to take action against terrorists that are in sanctuaries in Pakistan to reduce the pressure and the threat of violence in Afghanistan and to contribute to a lasting and enduring peace in Afghanistan and in the region,” Sullivan told reporters.
The US was committed to the efforts of the Afghanistan government to bring peace and prosperity to their country, and it can only be achieved if the Taliban agrees to join the Afghan peace process, he said.
Despite the recent tragic events where innocent lives were lost in three separate attacks by the Taliban, the Afghanistan government was ready to work with the Taliban to ensure peace. “Unfortunately, at this stage everyone but the Taliban appears ready for peace. The Taliban’s reprehensible attacks targeting innocent civilians demonstrate that they are not ready to enter into good faith peace negotiations,” said Sullivan.
In January, the US suspended close to $2 billion in military aid to Pakistan for allegedly failing to shut down terrorist safe havens in its soil. President Trump also tweeted that Pakistan has given nothing to the US other than “lies and deceit” and providing “safe haven” to terrorists in return for $ 33 billion aid over the last 15 years.
