Addressing the 73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah on Wednesday stressed the need to shut down breeding grounds and sanctuaries of terrorists.
“All stakeholders need to agree to treat all shades of terrorism as one, shut down the breeding grounds and sanctuaries and to prosecute or repatriate the violators,” Abdullah said. “The response thus far has been sparse and insufficient. We are working with all countries near and afar to bring about better results.”
Abdullah said that Kabul has asked its neighboring states, especially Pakistan, to help targeted socieities- including their own – deal with the menace of terrorism.
“We are looking forward to the timely and effective implementation of the recently agreed Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APPAPS),” Abdullah said.
According to Abdullah, Afghanistan has suffered conflict over the past 17 years partly because of geography and partly because of “short-sighted strategies and regional agendas that have generates umbilical reliance on non-state actors used to keep others unstable through violence and the promotion of extremism.”
Referring to peace, Abdullah said that Afghanistan has turned a page and made unprecedented overtures to the Taliban to be part be part of the process.
“On several occasions, we have pledged our commitment to unconditional intra-Afghan dialogue and the restoration of all rights and privileges for those who agree to end the cycle of violence,” Abdullah said. “We even announced a unilateral ceasefire earlier this year that was agreed to by the Taliban for a three-day period and gave the Afghans a glimpse of what peace can look and feel like.”
He said that “extraneous agendas” prevented a second ceasefire. “But we will not rest, and we have vowed to pursue what is right and attainable,” Abdullah said.
Source : Afghan Voice Agency(AVA)
