Parliamentary panel sets demands for Istanbul moot

KABUL‘s Defence Commission on Tuesday set a number of demands for the regional cooperation conference in Istanbul due on November 2.

The commission demanded of participating countries to pursue peaceful policy, asked neighbouring countries to stop meddling in Afghanistan‘s internal affairs, respect to Afghanistan’s sovereignty, co-existence, end to political hypocrisy and good neighbourhood, the commission chairperson Shukria Barakzai told a press conference in Kabul.

She also urged regional countries to jointly fight terrorism for common economical, cultural, political and social interests and support the Afghan government-initiated peace process.

The ministerial-level conference is being attended by the United States, France, Germany, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkey and NATO countries, as well as representatives from the United Nations.

Among other things, participants will discuss issues related to the ongoing security transition to Afghan forces, the withdrawal of foreign troops and the reconciliation process.

Barakzai said their demands included an honest commitment by participating countries to their promises to be held out at the conference.

The outspoken lawmakers said that concerns of neighbouring countries about the presence of foreign troops in Afghanistan should be addressed at the moot.

She said the commission had sent all the demands of the Wolesi Jirga to participants of the conference, hoping their demands would be considered.

President Hamid Karzai on Monday left for Turkey, where he was warmly welcomed by several Turkish officials as he arrived at the Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul.

Among others, the governor and mayor of the city, protocol director at the Turkish foreign ministry, the Turkish ambassador to Kabul and the Afghan ambassador in Ankara received the president.

President Hamid Karzai is set to take up with his Pakistani counterparts the ongoing reconciliation effort in Afghanistan, cross-border rocket strikes and the assassination of High Peace Council chief, Burhanuddin Rabbani, an official said on Tuesday.

At a trilateral summit later in the day with Presidents Abdullah Gul and Asif Ali Zardari, Karzai would stress the importance of Pakistan’s role in bringing peace and stability to Afghanistan, his spokesman Aimal Faizi told Pajhwok Afghan News.

In recent months, Afghan officials say incursions into eastern Afghanistan from Pakistani had caused several casualties in addition to property damage in Kunar and Nuristan provinces. However, Islamabad denies the allegation as baseless.

frm/ma

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