FO told EU Pakistan not responsible for Ashraf Ghani’s failure

Pakistan cannot be held accountable for the failure of the exiled Ashraf Ghani-led government in Afghanistan, the Foreign Office said in reply to a resolution of the European Parliament on the situation in Afghanistan.

Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said “Pakistan cannot be held responsible for the failure of the Ghani government, and its causes that were internal to Afghanistan”.

The spokesperson stated that the Ghani-led government had regrettably frivolous the chance presented by the Doha Peace Deal.

The reply by the spokesperson came after the EU assumed that Pakistan is “assisting the Taliban” in fighting the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF) in the Panjshir Valley “by supplying its special forces and providing air support”.

The Taliban came into power in mid-August, exiling the government and promising to reestablish safety in the country.

“Pakistan has played and continues to play a constructive role in facilitating peace and stability in Afghanistan,” the spokesperson said.

Ahmad said after Afghanistan, Pakistan has been the main victim of decades of the battle and over the years, Islamabad has funded immeasurably to the achievement of the international community’s fight against terrorism.

“Of all the countries of the world, Pakistan has suffered the most — with over 80,000 casualties and more than 150 billion US dollars in economic losses,” Ahmad said.

The spokesperson said Pakistan endures hosting over four million Afghan immigrants, the world’s largest prolonged refugee populace. “A peaceful and stable Afghanistan is therefore in the best interest of Pakistan.”