Taliban fighters in Pakistan say they are sending thousands of their guerrillas to neighboring Afghanistan to counter the US imperialist military build-up in Central Asia.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
Saturday, January 02, 2010
World community, US have failed in Afghanistan: Ahmed Rashid
LAHORE: The international community and the United States have failed to work towards nation building and developing infrastructure in Afghanistan, Ahmed Rashid, a noted journalist, said on Friday at a seminar on “Pakistan-Afghanistan Relations: The Taliban Factor”.
The seminar was organised by the Punjab University’s (PU) Pakistan Study Centre. University Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran chaired the seminar.
Rashid said the Bush administration’s war in Iraq hampered the efforts to rebuild Afghanistan, consequently Al Qaeda and the Taliban have re-emrged. He said infrastructure and nation building in Afghanistan could not be achieved with a donor-driven economy and without focusing on developing agriculture and an indigenous economy.
Rashid said the Obama administration was focusing on these issues now, however, it was a little too late. He said the Karzai administration had been marred with allegations of corruption, bad governance and incompetence.
He believed that conciliatory talks between representatives of all sections, including the Taliban and NATO forces, was the only way out of the dilemma in Afghanistan and Pakistan’s military could play a positive and intermediary role in this regard. He said the Taliban were at their strongest right now and the environment was conducive for dialogue.
Rashid feared that the situation would get worse as Pakistan was facing major crises, including economic, political and extremist. He said the country was only dependent on the International Monetary Fund and the circular debt had nearly paralysed all government institutions.
The political crisis, he said, was a result of repeated martial laws and the failure of political leadership to relieve the masses of their miseries. The state also faced extremist challenges, he added.
Rashid said he believed that the borders with India and Afghanistan might create problems for Pakistan in the near future and another Mumbai-style incident may further damage ties between India and Pakistan. He hoped that the civil and military leadership would unite to face the challenges effectively.
Meanwhile, Dr Kamran urged the students to ponder over the issues facing the country. He urged the youth to acquire maximum knowledge of both national and international issues by developing a habit of reading.
staff report
No comments:
Post a Comment