The Pakistan Afghanistan Joint Committee (PAJC) members from Pakistan visited the Ibn-i-Sina University in Kabul for lectures on the theme of “The need for dialogue among Pakistan and Afghanistan to address the security challenges in both the countries”.
Dr. Shaoib Suddle, former Inspector General of Police, Pakistan, said that the blame game between the two countries was getting stronger but they were there to fix the problems. Historically, the Germany and France were not even expected to talk to each other whatsoever given the wars they fought and they could still be fighting but the younger generation realized that there is no future in fighting. But between Pakistan and Afghanistan, there is no such history as wars and the two have a lot of commonalities to build upon. It is for the people of Afghanistan to decide what sort of government they want. As far as Pakistan is concerned, we want peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan, but at the same time, we also expect that Afghan side should not be used by proxies to destabilize Pakistan. Likewise, the territory of Pakistan should in no way be used against Afghanistan. Unfortunately, the current narrative in these two countries is not in the favor of promoting peace and friendly relations. If a serious incident happens in Afghanistan, the blame comes to Pakistan and vice versa. We need to once and for all address these issues. There is no issue that can deter the friendly relations. The narrative can only change if the youths of both countries play their roles for change like in France and Germany. So the youths should come up with a new evidence based narrative rather than the one based on foreign interests. The Beyond Boundaries is an attempt to sensitize the youths about the criticalities of Af-Pak relations besides influencing the official policy making. There are thousands of scholarships waiting for Afghan students to avail in Pakistan. We are here to assure you that there would be nothing whatsoever from Pakistan side that can negatively affect Afghanistan. You should act as independent monitors to see as to who says what and then creating pressures on the policy makers for not taking the two countries apart but get closer.
Qazi Humayun, former Pakistani ambassador, said that there were geographical and historical realities in the relationship of Afghanistan and Pakistan. We as members of civil society can create pressures on our respective governments for friendly policy making. Youths have active minds and they should analyze and develop critical thinking, as it is vital to draw conclusion on any issue.
The lectures/ presentations were followed by an interactive discussion with the university students. The students were of the view that there were several problems in the relations between the two countries and these issues should be discussed from the general public’s perspective. We should be given real facts and the two sides must consider and discuss the real problems deterring the bilateral relations. The students also underpinned the need for ameliorating the trust deficit between the two countries and fostering the people to people contacts. They also highlighted the issue of unequal distribution of wealth in both countries and the need to take actions against terrorists indiscriminately.
