Monday, February 13, 2012

Afghanistan

Afghan Minister Accuses Pakistan Of Terror

Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta (file photo) (AFP)

March 3, 2007 -- Afghanistan's Foreign Minister, Rangin Dadfar Spanta, accused Pakistan today of using terror as its foreign policy.

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March 03, 2007

"I wish that the international community wouldn't give rewards to countries that are supporting the Taliban," Spanta told lawmakers in Kabul.

Afghan officials frequently accuse Pakistani elements of harboring Taliban militants.

Pakistan says it does all it can to fight terrorism. Pakistani intelligence officials say one of the Taliban's top leaders, Mullah Obaidullah Akhund, was arrested in Quetta on March 26, the highest-ranking Afghan militant to be captured since the fall of the hard-line regime in 2001.

The reported arrest -- yet to be formally announced by Pakistan's government -- came on the same day U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney made a visit to Islamabad to express concern about Al-Qaeda regrouping along the Afghan-Pakistan border.

(AP)

Afghanistan And Pakistan

Afghan President Hamid Karzai (left) with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in Islamabad in October 2005 (epa)

ACROSS A DIFFICULT BORDER. The contested border between Pakistan and Afghanistan is some 2,500 kilometers long and runs through some of the most rugged, inhospitable territory on Earth. Controlling that border and preventing Taliban militants from using Pakistan as a staging ground for attacks in Afghanistan is an essential part of the U.S.-led international coalition's strategy for stabilizing Afghanistan. Officials in Kabul have been pointing their fingers at Pakistan for some time, accusing Islamabad or intelligence services of turning a blind eye to cross-border terrorism targeting the Afghan central government. Many observers remain convinced that much of the former Taliban regime's leadership -- along with leaders of Al-Qaeda -- are operating in the lawless Afghan-Pakistani border region.... (more)