PM urges US to mull Afghan exit strategy

ISLAMABAD—Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has politely asked the United States to think about an exit strategy from Afghanistan. Aziz who returned on Sunday from a trip to the United States and Canada, gave an implicit reminder that the US must leave Afghanistan eventually, in consultation with the Afghans, their neighbours and myriad stakeholders.
“History is full of examples where we didn’t focus too much on exit strategy,” Aziz said in an interview with Washington Times.
“A good exit strategy is one which leaves that country, that area, peaceful, economically and politically empowered. “We are the most important stakeholder, and we are there for life. We cannot take off; countries cannot change their neighbours.”
The Times quoted the PM as saying that Pakistan, a key ally in the war on terror, welcomes an expected reappraisal of US policy on Iran and Afghanistan, and thinks military action alone is “not the answer” to the threat posed by extremists in the two countries.”
“I would like to see a more nuanced approach to battling extremism, which includes massive investment and economic assistance to the two countries in order to build a sense of well-being for the poor and disenfranchised”.
He said: “We believe that conflicts like Iraq, Afghanistan and so on need to be carefully reviewed because military action is not the answer or the solution to such a crisis,” he said.
“We must work on winning the hearts and minds of the people. We have to involve the people, to give them the sense that the world cares and their future tomorrow will be better than yesterday.”
The United States has spent about $38 billion on infrastructure and development projects in Iraq since the invasion in 2003, but Aziz said more must be done to address “root causes,” namely poverty and hopelessness, and to make extremist ideologies less attractive.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has asked all parliamentarians belonging to the PML and its allied parties to spread out in their constituencies and explain the true significance of the Women’s Protection Bill which is the first solid step to protect the rights of women in the country.
The Prime Minister said this while talking to a group of MNAs who called on him at his chamber in the Parliament House Wednesday. The Prime Minister said that the government is committed to taking more legislative measures in the light of Quran and Sunnah to further protect the rights of Women.
The Prime Minister said that the government believes in the process of consultation and the views of all segments of the society including the ulema, women groups, civil society and political parties will be taken into consideration before introducing any further legislation to protect the rights of women.
The Parliamentarians congratulated the Prime Minister on the passage of Women Protection Bill and assured him that they will make all out efforts to explain the importance of the Bill in its true perspective.
The group of MNA’s and Ministers included Minister for Law Mr. Wasi Zafar, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mr. Muhammad Ali Durrani, Minister for Minority Affairs Mr.Mushtaq Victor , Naseer Mangel Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Resources, Chief Whip in National Assembly Sardar Nasrullah Darshek, Mr.Farhan Latif, Sheikh Waqas Akram, Mrs Mehnaz Rafi MNA, Bushra Rehman, , Mr. Shahid Manzoor Gil, Mr. Rao Ajmal, Mr. Khurshid Afghan, Dr.Rozina Tufail, i, Dr.Atia Inyatullah,Mrs.Tahmina Dasti, Sardar Fateh Muhammad Muhammad Hasni, Mr.Riaz Fatiana, Mr.Gian Singh , Mr. Liaqat Abbas Bhatti, Mr. Safdar Shakar.—Agencies