Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa said on Tuesday that the path to regional peace and stability passes through Afghanistan. According to the ISPR press release, the army chief attended Chiefs of Defence (CHOD) Conference held in Kabul, which was attended by Commander US CENTCOM, Commander Resolute Support Mission (RSM) and Army Chiefs of Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. COAS Bajwa addressed the gathering, saying that regions develop as whole and not in the form of individual countries. The army chief said that Pakistan has eradicated all terrorist sanctuaries from its soil, however, residual signs of terrorists are being traced and targeted through the ongoing Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad.
The ISPR mentioned that the army chief said terrorists try to take advantage of the presence of 2.7 million Afghan refugees and absence of effective border security coordination. The army chief once again assured that the Pakistani territory will not be used against any other country and Pakistan also expects reciprocation in this regard. He rightly said that collaborative approach and persistence is the answer to all challenges, for which Pakistan is willing to play its part. COAS in the visit has rightly urged Afghan government to match the Pakistan’s accomplishments against militancy in order to bring stability and peace in the region.
The Afghan government needs to come up with a clear approach to deal with the increasing insurgency in the country. Government of Afghanistan must stand with Pakistan to fight the monster of terror as terrorism is a common issue in both countries, and an issue that Pakistan has almost overcome thanks to the sacrifices and efforts of its armed forces. Afghanistan should realize that in case of increased tension with Pakistan only militants would be the ultimate beneficiaries. Cooperation is the only way forward to eliminate menace of terrorism.
Providing assistance to each other by cooperating and helping will certainly help eliminating terrorist outfits. Afghanistan usually blames Pakistan for not taking adequate measures to curb militants, an allegation that holds little value and has been time and again negated by Pakistan. It is pleasant development that both countries have decided to enhance their cooperation with regards to action against militants. Both countries have suffered a lot due to terrorism and both must work together in order to defeat menace of terrorism.