Statement of IEA-MoFA regarding comments of Pakistani Foreign Minister

IEA-MoFA welcomes remarks by the Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari at Munich Security Conference deeming a peaceful Afghanistan vital for regional stability and calling on the international community to help Afghanistan in capacity building, unfreezing Afghanistan’s assets, lifting banking restrictions & continuing humanitarian assistance to Afghans.

However, his remarks asserting that terrorist groups operate from Afghanistan and if not paid serious attention to by the international community, it would not only be an imminent threat to Afghanistan’s neighboring countries like Pakistan but also to the west because the Afghan government lacks standing security forces – are untrue.

IEA has proven in practice to regional & world countries that, with professional & experienced security forces, it has not allowed anyone to use the territory of Afghanistan against others.

It should be noted that Afghanistan’s security is now much better than many countries around the world.

We would like to draw attention of regional & world countries to the fact that the Islamic Emirate has taken concrete steps toward strengthening security of Afghanistan and the region both during the occupation & after coming to power, leading to improvement in security of not only Afghanistan but the entire region as well as thwarting past threats against regional security.

Pakistan’s recent insecurity is not new but something that has pre-existed for the past two decades. IEA remains determined not to allow anyone to use Afghanistan’s soil against other countries, particularly against its neighbors.

Moreover, we advise Pakistan to discuss bilateral issues face-to-face with the Afghan government instead of complaining at international conferences.