Peace inevitable for regional stability, says ANP leader

PESHAWAR (Pajhwok): The Pakhtun nationalist Awami National Party (ANP) has urged Pakistan and Afghanistan to evolve a bilateral mechanism to address border-related issues, including construction of security posts.

ANP leader Zahid Khan, in a statement on Friday, voiced his conce about the escalation of tensions between the neighbours after armed clashes over the construction of a gate at the Torkham border crossing.

He said Pakistan and Afghanistan were being pushed into war and that confrontation between the two neighbours would destabilise the entire region.

Statements of former Afghan president Hamid Karzai and Ambassador Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal in the context of the recent skirmishes were very important and that they should not be ignored, he remarked.

Zahid noted Pakistan stood isolated in the region after Iran, Afghanistan and India decided to sign defence and trade pacts and the US was threatening to say ‘goodbye’ to Pakistan.

A stable and prosperous Afghanistan was important for Pakistan as well as the entire region, the ANP leader believed, stressing peace was inevitable for social and economic prosperity of the two neighbours.

Khan called for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to approach President Ashraf Ghani immediately and take serious steps to resolve misunderstandings between the two countries.Confrontation between Pakistan and Afghanistan would only facilitate terrorists, he waed.

pr/mud