Afghan instability increases risk of conflagration in Pak: Kerry

Asserting that Osama bin Laden and his deputies are in NWFP,Senator John Kerry has said that instability in Afghanistan is too dangerous for nuclear-armed Pakistan

Asserting that the Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and his deputies are in Northwest Pakistan,a top American Senator has said that instability in Afghanistan is too dangerous for nuclear-armed Pakistan as the world cannot afford turbulence there.

“While stabilising Afghanistan is not going to solve all of our problems in Afghanistan,I understand that instability in Afghanistan only increases the risk of conflagration where the world can least afford it,next door in Pakistan,” Senator John Kerry said in a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations,a Washington-based think-tank.

“That’s why,regardless of what happens in Afghanistan,and especially if we want to reduce the needs for additional boots on the ground over the long-haul,it is vitally important that we support,that we intensify even,our support and improve our cooperation with Pakistan,” said Kerry,who is chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

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Kerry,who has just returned from Afghanistan and Pakistan,said the decisions made and actions taken in the weeks and months ahead will be what really gives meaning to that moment and definition to the future of both the countries.

Observing that what happens inside Afghanistan is important to US’s strategic interests,Kerry said: “our goals and our mission do not end at Afghanistan’s borders. No front is more important in our fight against international terrorism than nuclear-armed Pakistan,and the chaos next door in Afghanistan would have enormous repercussions there.”

Emphasising that bringing stability in Afghanistan and Pakistan is not the job of the United States alone,Kerry said: “The United States cannot do it alone. We want all nations to trade and invest in Afghanistan but we also want all nations to help with stabilising the country.”

“If this is to be a turning point,we must strengthen the capacity of the Afghan government and insist that its leaders embrace lasting reforms,” he noted.

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“That’s why we’re committed to providing the Pakistani people with USD 1.5 billion a year for each of the next five years to build schools,hospitals,and roads. We need to make it clear that we respect their sovereignty as we give Pakistan vital breathing space in order to deal with its difficult domestic problems,” he said.

He praised Pakistani military for taking tough action against the Taliban elements in the country.

“The Pakistani military has demonstrated firm resolve with its current offensive against the Pakistani Taliban in Waziristan and they deserve great credit for that. We need to be doing as much as we can do,and that involves Afghanistan as well as Pakistan,in order to assist the Pakistani military as they go after domestic extremists,” he said.