ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is well prepared to deal with the spillover effect it may face in case of a civil war in neighbouring Afghanistan, the country’s Army spokesman has said, insisting that Islamabad is only a facilitator of the Afghan peace process, not a guarantor. Major Gen Babar Iftikhar’s comments came as Taliban officials said the group had taken control of 85% of territory in Afghanistan.
“Pakistan is only a facilitator of the Afghan peace process – not a guarantor,” Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar told ARY News on Saturday night. “Pakistan has no favourites among the Afghan stakeholders. The Afghans have to choose their leadership,” he said.
He said Pakistan was well aware of the spillover effect it may face in case of a civil war in Afghanistan and measures had been taken to deal with it. He said the security on the border was tight. More than 90% of the 2,611 km-long border has been fenced.
Pakistan is “very well prepared” and the current border security mechanism was “much better”, he said.
The spokesperson also said there was fear of a fresh wave of Afghan refugees and the interior ministry has already put together a contingency plan to deal with the situation.
He also took a swipe at the Afghan forces which have been trained by the Americans at the expense of a lot of money but so far failed to put up any resistance against the Taliban. “In the past 20 years, the US military has trained the Afghan National Army…,” Babar said.
US President Joe Biden on Thursday announced that America’s nearly 20-year military mission in Afghanistan will conclude on August 31.