A number of political party leaders and members of the Pakistani Parliament gathered in Islamabad on Wednesday to voice support for the Afghan presidential election and urge their government not to aid insurgents in their attempts to derail Afghanistan’s democratic process.
Afghanistan and Pakistan have long been at odds over the Taliban insurgency, which most Afghan leaders believe has been nurtured by the Pakistani military and intelligence services. However, the gathering on Wednesday suggested there are at least some within the Pakistani political elite who think a stable neighbor is in their country’s best interest.
“Pakistan must cooperate in maintaining security for the second round of the Afghan election, because victory in the election is actually a victory for Pakistan,” Awami National Party of Pakistan leader Afrasyab Khattak said.
Although they did not get into specifics of how Pakistan might help Afghanistan in the election process, the politicians made it clear that they did not want Pakistani soil being used by insurgents fighting in Afghanistan.
“There are people who live in Pakistan and use Pakistani soil to attack Afghanistan, we ask the Pakistani military prevent this otherwise it will be catastrophic for the Pakistanis,” Khattak said.
What was most distinct about the gathering on Wednesday was the overwhelming sense that the fates of Afghanistan and Pakistan were inherently intertwined and that in many ways what is good for one is good for the other.
“During the runoff, two leading presidential candidates will compete against each other, and who ever will be elected will be good for Afghanistan and Pakistan,” Pakistani Parliament Member Homayoon Saifullah said. "Pakistan must help Afghanistan in the process.”
Source/Fuente: http://www.tolonews.com/elections2014/successful-afghan-election-pakista...
