Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf said Sunday that
the holding of the Pak-Afghan Joint Peace Jirga in the Afghan
capital of Kabul was "a good beginning" and it would help ensure
peace and security in Afghanistan and the bordering areas of
Pakistan.
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"The joint declaration and the formation of a 50-member committee
is a step in right direction but it is not an end in itself rather
a beginning of peace process," he told journalists at the Chaklala
airbase near the Pakistani capital on his return from
Afghanistan.
Pakistani
President Pervez Musharraf (L) and Afghan President Hamid Karzai
(R) attend a peace "jirga", or gathering, in Kabul August 12, 2007.
Musharraf acknowledged on Sunday Afghan militants were operating
from Pakistani soil, as he and Karzai vowed joint efforts to fight
Taliban and al Qaeda.
Musharraf expressed the confidence that the 50-member committee
proposed by the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Jirga would engage
opposing forces in Afghanistan in a political dialogue to push the
peace process forward.
"The formation of the committee with 25 members from each side
is a step in the positive direction and the committee should engage
warring forces in Afghanistan to bring the terrorism and extremism
to an end," he said.
However, Musharraf added that the people to be included in the
committee should have credibility and standing so that they were
able to engage the opposing forces in a dialogue process to ensure
peace in the area.
He said that the joint jirga attended by 700 delegates with
350each from the two countries provided an opportunity of
interaction between them to find ways and means to ensure peace in
the region.
Replying to a question, Musharraf described his visit as
successful and said that he talked to Afghan President Hamid Karzai
on the need for trust building as mutual bickering would impede
progress towards establishment of peace and security.
On Wednesday, Musharraf called Karzai to inform him that he
could not personally attend the jirga in Kabul because of domestic
"engagements".
Instead, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz addressed the inaugural
session Thursday representing Pakistan.
Karzai telephoned Musharraf Friday evening and invited him to
attend the closing session of the Joint Peace Jirga.
(Xinhua News Agency August 13, 2007)
