Daily Times

KARACHI: The author of best-selling books on foreign policy on Afghanistan, Pakistan and South Asia, Ahmed Rashid has said that the migrants from Afghanistan should be included in the upcoming Pakistani census and the Afghan nationals must be counted as immigrants.

He was talking during the Karachi Literature Festival (KLF) on Saturday, in a conversation session with foreign secretary of Pakistan, Najmuddin Shaikh on topic Afghanistan-Pakistan: Illusion and Realities said that the issue of census is an administrative issue that Nation Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) can resolve it properly.

Najmuddin Shaikh said that Afghanistan issue can be resolved with the help of China, Russia and United States. China and the United States are both working together; they both want peace for Afghanistan.

“America is giving $500 million to Afghanistan to sustain stability and peace over there”, said Najmuddin Shaikh. He said that China’s massive investment in infrastructure in the shape of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) for Pakistan as well as for Afghanistan is an important carrot for both the countries as it offers major economic sustenance to both countries.

Rashid said that American presence is the region is the need of time therefore it must take stay here until the settlement of relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan.” Pakistan may involve China, Russia and United States as a third-party to sort out its solutions”, he said.

To a question, Shaikh said the government in Kabul is very weak economically. It needs an international support to carry out many of the reforms it was supposed to enact.

To another question, Najmuddin said that there is no specific policy to deal with good Taliban and bad Taliban; we are clear in our actions now.

They said that should quit playing blame-games with every country for each bad thing happening in our country as it isolates us in the world. “We should quit this policy, they concluded.