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Pakistani PM offers training to Afghan army

21 October 2011 21:45 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani offered training to Afghan armed forces and renewed his country’s support for the Afghan-led peace and reconciliation process, local media reported on Friday, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

Pakistan’s offer came days after Afghanistan and India signed a strategic partnership agreement which will allow India to train and equip Afghan security forces.

Pakistan on a number of occasions has offered imparting training to Afghan forces but Kabul has not accepted it.

"Pakistan is ready to train the Afghan army, police and administration to cope with the aftermath of the 2014 period," Prime Minister Gilani said in a meeting with an Afghan parliamentary delegation in Islamabad. The delegation was led by Ustad Mohaqiq, member of Afghan National Assembly or Wolesi Jirga and the Chairman of Commission on Law and Justice of Wolesi Jirga.

The Afghan delegation is visiting Islamabad at a time when Afghan government has suspended joint peace efforts with Pakistan after the last month assassination of Afgahn peace envoy Prof. Burhanuddin Rabbani. Afghan officials had claimed that plot was prepared in the Pakistani city of Quetta by Afghan Taliban. Pakistan rejected the claim but assured cooperation.

Prime Minister Gilani said that he has visited Afghanistan twice and met President Karzai along with Pakistan’s military leadership and assured support to the Afghan peace process, adding that Pakistan supported the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned process of reconciliation.

"We want to see independent, prosperous and stable Afghanistan. My government will support any solution which will not destabilize Pakistan as was the case last time when this country had to host three million Afghan refugees", the Prime Minister stated.

He said that Pakistan had contributed 350 million U.S. dollars to take part in the rehabilitation of Afghanistan and awarded 2000 scholarships to the Afghan students who were now studying in various universities of Pakistan.

Ustad Mohaqiq advocated the reconciliation process in which Taliban should be included provided they accepted the Afghan constitution.

He rejected the policy of blaming each other and instead underscored the need of working closely against the common enemy.

He said both Afghanistan and Pakistan should work to accomplish the mission of Professor Burhaniuddin Rabbani who wanted to see both the countries as good neighbors and good friends.