Sharif Urges Pakistan Neutrality On Afghanistan - CBS News

(AP) ISLAMABAD (AP) - Pakistan should stop trying to influence affairs in Afghanistan, the opposition leader said Tuesday, while admitting that the pro-Afghan Taliban policy he pursued when he was prime minister in the 1990s was a failure.

Nawaz Sharif's comments come as he tries to gain political traction and deflect criticism that his party is beholden to extremist elements. Just last week, he pushed the government to open talks with elements of the Pakistani Taliban, and the ruling party agreed to his proposal to hold a national conference on stopping terrorism.

The remarks also come as Pakistan tries to weigh in on reconciliation efforts between Afghanistan's government, the U.S. and the Afghan Taliban. Pakistan's historical interest in Afghanistan is largely a result of its desire to assert itself in the region and attain a strategic advantage over archrival India.

In an interview with Pakistan's Dunya TV that aired Monday and Tuesday, Sharif appeared to renounce a policy he pursued with vigor while twice prime minister in the 1990s. Back then, Pakistan openly supported the Afghan Taliban movement as it pushed out other armed factions such as the Northern Alliance and gained control of Kabul.

"Pakistan should abandon this thinking that Pakistan has to keep influence in Afghanistan," said Sharif, who heads the Pakistan Muslim League-N party. "Neither will they accept influence, nor should the pro-influence-minded people here insist on it."

"Our policy in the past has failed. Neither will such a policy work in future. We have a centuries-old relationship, and we can maintain this relationship only when we remain neutral and support the government elected there with the desire of the Afghan people." .... - Sharif Urges Pakistan Neutrality On Afghanistan - CBS News
- «پاکستان باید تلاش به خاطر تحت نفوذ قرار دادن افغانستان را متوقف سازد»
رنگین دادفر اسپنتا: پاکستان با جدیت علیه تروریزم عمل کند

«آماده گی ها برای کنفرانس کابل را شخص رییس جمهور نظارت می کند»
وزارت معارف به منظور بررسی فساد یک ادارهء خاص را ایجاد کرد