Daily Times

KABUL: Former Afghan president Hamid Karzai has said that Pakistan does not want good relations between India and Afghanistan and wants no bilateral trade and no access to Central Asia for India, which is unacceptable for Afghanistan.

In an interview with BBC Urdu on Thursday, Karzai claimed that India is helping Afghanistan build its infrastructure and health facilities and has filled Afghanistan with money despite being a poor country.

Karzai said, “India wants to be a true friend of Afghanistan and we want Pakistan to do the same.”

He said Pakistan should also become a part of the regional coalition between Afghanistan, India and Iran, but Pakistan’s condition is that Afghanistan should not have contacts with India. “If this issue is resolved, our relations with Pakistan will improve rapidly,” Karzai told BBC.

While terming the formation of Durand Line ‘a result of British imperialism’ in the region, Karzai said that Afghanistan has never accepted this border since 1893, nor will they ever accept it in future.

Karzai said, “When Pakistan came into being in 1947, they received it this way, so we are not blaming them but Durand Line is a blow which no Afghan can ever forget. We do not accept this border but will not fight over this issue.”

He stressed that Afghanistan is a sovereign country and is not taking dictation from any other country but the government of Pakistan has taken some steps on Durand Line which are angering Afghans.

When asked as to why Afghanistan does not approach United Nations (UN) or International Court of Justice (ICJ) over the Durand Line issue, Karzai said that it is not an international issue but ‘inheritance of imperialism’ and only the respective governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan can resolve this matter.

He maintained that terrorism and extremism is a menace, which has not only affected people of both the countries. Karzai said, “ We (Afghans) think they have found safe havens and are getting aid from Pakistan.”

“When this will stop, Pakistan too will see peace,” said Karzai, who ruled Afghanistan from 2004 to 2014. He provided a two-point solution to end hostility between Pakistan and Afghanistan which include, both the countries should jointly fight terrorism and make serious efforts for its elimination, this will bring peace to both of the countries. Secondly, Pakistan should accept that Afghanistan is a sovereign country and should respect it and stop dictating us about friendship with India. He said, “We will not back down on that.”