KABUL (SW): President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani said on Sunday Afghanistan has made it clear to the regional countries that terrorists were coming here from their backyards but would not be allowed to nurture here.
Ghani was briefing journalists about his engagements in Ufa, Russia where he attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting and BRICS nation summit earlier in the week.
Daesh is not an Afghan-born issue, it came from other parts of the world and would not be allowed to destabilize the region, he said. Ghani added Afghanistan’s neighbors Iran, Pakistan, China, Central Asian States and even India and China were concerned about Daesh gaining foothold in Afghanistan.
Lauding the resolve of Afghan security forces, President Ghani said Afghan forces would root-out the menace of terrism. “If you compare our forces to the Iraqi forces, they (Iraqi forces) perished during weeks in the wake of Daesh’s surge but our forces stood firm in defiance and gave a befitting respond to terrorists”, Ghani said.
He added that leaders from the Central Asian states, Russia, China and Pakistan have been asked to join hands for a comprehensive strategy to root out terrorism. “Terrorists from these countries come here (to Afghanistan) and are in fight against systems in their homelands, they want to destabilize their countries from here”, he said.
President added that SCO members agreed to take part in a ministerial-level meeting in Kabul soon to chalk-out a strategy for it. “SCO and BRICS have acknowledged that Afghanistan has a leadership, vision and resolve to challenges, he said, adding that image-building of Afghanistan was his main agenda for the meetings in Ufa.
Ghani said Afghanistan did not deny its role in being a producer of opium but those countries responsible for the processing, trafficking and consumption too should accept their responsibilities to curb the Narcotics problem. He added efforts were underway to ensure more international support for training and equiping the national security forces.
About peace talks with the Taliban, Ghani said unprecedented direct talks were the result of a long process of consultation with civil society, elders and women leaders. He expressed optimism about lasting peace and said any aggression would be dealt with force.
ENDS
