Afghanistan will not allow proxy war, non-state actors: Afghan President
No eye contact between the leaders of India and Pakistan at a summit that was supposed to toast regional solidarity and take small but significant steps towards regional integration. In the end, it was Afghanistan’s new president Ashraf Ghani to speak some home truths. Making his debut at the SAARC summit, Mr Ghani made it clear that he would not allow his country to become a battleground of a proxy war as he warned against the dangers posed by non-state actors trying to usurp the agenda –- a none-too-veiled reference to Pakistan’s alleged sponsorship of terror outfits.
He did not mention Pakistan by name, but everybody knew who he was pointing finger at when he underlined that the state sponsorship of non-state actors could have damaging effects. “It should be clear that such measures have blowback effects, destabilising the state system,” Mr Ghani said. He also made it clear that his country, which is on the cusp of a transformational journey as foreign combat troops withdraw from Afghanistan this year, will not provide sanctuaries for terror groups.
In so far as feel-good rhetoric goes, these platitudes are fine, but it’s time for the SAARC to move beyond mere declaration and deliver security and prosperity to its millions of the deprived and the downtrodden across the region.