Islamabad: National Security Adviser (NSA) Dr Moeed Yusuf said Afghanistan was forced to become a “sanctuary for terrorists” by India in the past 20 years to fuel terrorism in Pakistan, emphasising that “it must now stop”.
In a virtual interview with The Wire journalist Karan Thapar, Yusuf said Pakistan won’t accept if India deploys its people in Afghanistan in the garb of development workers and uses them to incite terrorism in Pakistan, adding that Afghanistan should never become a sanctuary for terrorists.
The NSA said a window for improved relationship between Pakistan and India was open but insisted it was India that had to create the “enabling environment”. The security adviser added that many voices in Pakistan were sure that the incumbent Indian government won’t let this happen.
He said India would miss a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity if it failed to take up this chance for the region to move forward with the current civil and military leadership of Pakistan.
In response to a question about a prospective Afghan government, Yusuf said Pakistan would welcome whatever Afghans decide for their future. “We have no favourites, and no line on who should go where. If anybody tries to impose from outside, it will not work,” he emphasised.
He insisted that Pakistan would keep trying to facilitate a political settlement in Afghanistan.
When asked if Pakistan would recognise Taliban if they grab power militarily, Yusuf said “we will see how the international community reacts and take the decision accordingly.”
The host also asked whether Pakistan would seal its border with Afghanistan if Taliban took over Afghanistan. The NSA underlined it was unlikely to take place, adding that any decision taken by the prime minister would be implemented.
‘Backdoor’ meetings
The NSA was also posed a question on whether he held a secret meeting with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval in Dubai. Yusuf replied in the negative. He, however, said the Indian side had made contact with Pakistan.
Discussing the “backdoor channels” for talks, the interviewer asked whether the Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa also met Ajit Doval recently. The NSA responded: “Intelligence-level contacts happen even in the worst of circumstances … who was there from the Indian side, I would protect that because that’s for India to decide if it wants to reveal or not, and if I be brutally honest, it would also reveal who really calls the shots in India, so it’s better for them to decide.”
At this, Thapar asked the NSA whether he was implying the meeting between the COAS and Ajit Doval did take place. Yusuf said he was not suggesting that.
The NSA said Pakistan wanted to move forward with India “but unfortunately, as the PM remarked, the RSS ideology has come in the way.”
“For Pakistan, there are two main concerns, one is Kashmir, as it has always been and it will always be there till the Kashmiris get their right to self-determination in the light of UN resolutions.”
He highlighted that Pakistan’s second core concern was terrorism, saying “this is an important facet of Pakistan’s policy towards India. We need India to understand that we know it is perpetrating terrorism against Pakistan in Pakistan and this is unacceptable”. The Wire
