Afghanistan’s Former President Hamid Karzai appealed to people of Kashmir not to be used by Pakistan for vested interests. He called upon people to learn from Afghanistan’s example.
Speaking to CNN-NEWS18 he said, “We also thought a foreign power was helping us do the right thing but then the foreign power had its own interests and we were used as cannon fodder. I hope our brothers and sisters in Kashmir will be wiser and live with the rest of India in peace and prosperity".
Karzai agreed with Prime Minister Modi’s statement at the BRICS statement that Pakistan was the ‘mothership’ of terror in the region and also the biggest challenge to the economic growth of Afghanistan.
The Former President has been asking America to take action against terror sanctuaries beyond Afghanistan for 15 years. Sharply criticizing the US he said, “US also shares a great deal of responsibility for ignoring sanctuaries for years and for supporting those who provide support for extremism. We hope US will change its policy and not use pragmatic interests of its country at the cost of promotion of extremism elsewhere in the world".
The Former President backed India for the surgical strike against terror launch pads across LoC. He said the US should be doing the same against terror havens beyond Afghanistan but, here he made a differentiation between people of Pakistan who want peace and terror groups and those who support them.
Karzai said boycotting SAARC was a diplomatic tool and he hoped it would pressurize Pakistan into recognizing that it needs to see this region differently. He hoped that India and Afghanistan would not have to look at a SAARC minus Pakistan but said, “If we keep failing to make Pakistan realize then we should seek alternatives".
Despite Nawaz Sharif’s direct interference in Kashmir and Pakistan government's inaction against terror groups, Karzai said Nawaz Sharif was someone who wanted peace with India and Afghanistan and wanted peace and prosperity in Pakistan but ‘he no longer had the means to do that’.
At a time when India has started highlighting human rights violations in Balochistan, Karzai stated that offering political asylum to people there was a good step. He said, “I endorse PM Modi’s statement from Red Fort, people of Balochistan are under- developed, we must respect their right for self determination and a life free from violence".
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