ISLAMABAD: Former US Ambassador Robin Raphel, while elucidating what went wrong in Afghanistan, said that Washington’s desire to modernize the war-torn country led to problems.
Speaking at Margalla Dialogue 2021, organized by the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI), she said the powerful defence lobby in the US made use of the opportunities in Afghanistan, which exacerbated the crisis.
She acknowledged that Taliban is an indigenous movement, and there is a need to work with the militia for normalizing the situation. Robin said the US still wants to retain a robust diplomatic presence in Afghanistan and work for smoothening affairs because the goal still remains the same, i.e. to help Afghans become a modern state. She said humanitarian crisis is most important issue and it should be addressed.
Agreeing with Foreign Minster Qureshi’s contention, she said the world is becoming pluralistic with US and China being two major competitors.
Earlier in his remarks Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, said Pakistan has shifted its focus to geo-economics and it is a strategic change.
Diplomats’ Session, of the Margalla Dialogue 2021, was attended by former US ambassador Cameron Munter, former Pakistan foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar, Chinese Deputy Ambassador Pang Chunxue, Russian Ambassador Danila Ganich, British High Commissioner Dr Christian Turner and Ambassador Robin Raphel.
Former US ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter in his speech said transnational issues are molding the foreign policies of countries worldwide, and said that geopolitics to geo-economics has become a new reality.
He urged the need for redoing the face value of Pakistan, and urged that the entrepreneurs and intellengtsia are the new harbingers. Recalling his days in Islamabad, Munter said the mantra of ‘do more’ was irritating and a bored one. He said the US wants Pakistan as a partner, and there is lot that needs to be done for the region. Munter called for looking from a new prism, and make people as the interacting force in bilateral relations.
Russian Ambassador to Pakistan Danila Ganich said that Moscow appreciates Pakistan’s role in anti-terrorism operations and in Afghanistan. He feared that the world is heading towards an accidental clash, and hoped that it shouldn’t be nuclear. Ganich also called for greater cooperation between the two countries in a new era of collaborations.
The British High Commissioner to Pakistan, Dr. Christain Turner, highlighted the potential of Pakistan’s populace, and said that it is where the momentum of economics resides. He said a population of 380 million by 2050 is the biggest challenge for Pakistan, and added that 1.5 million jobs creation is a must to stay afloat.
He also called for upping regional trade, and remarked that Pakistan could see a 30 percent rise in GDP if regional trade reaches its capacity. China’s Deputy Ambassador Ms. Pang Chunxue observed that it is unfortunate that some states had politicized pandemic, and called for more collaboration in this regard.
She said more than 265 million people are affected by Covid-19 worldwide, and said that more 2 billion vaccines will be provided by China. The Chinese envoy also underscored the need for high quality development in CPEC, adding that a closer and stronger Pakistan was important for China.
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