Dr. Ashraf Ghani, the President of Afghanistan stressed at the Heart of Asia conference in Amritsar on the importance of elimination of terrorism. The prime discussion during the Heart of Asia conference was the elimination of terror. In regard to this Ashraf Ghani said that out of the 30 different groups that UN has declared in the terror group most have been trying to get their base set up in Afghanistan. He said it is necessary that the countries should work together in not letting this happen.
The main goal of Heart of Asia conference is mainly enhanced cooperation for countering security threats and promoting connectivity in the Heart of Asia region. But India and Afghanistan have directly snubbed Pakistan in relation to terrorism. Dr. Ashraf Ghani opened his speech in the conference by rejecting the $500 million dollars aid from Pakistan. The president said that they need aid in fighting terrorism and Pakistan helping in that issue is a moot point. He added: “We need to identify cross-border terrorism and a fund to combat terrorism. Pakistan has pledged $500m for Afghanistan’s development. This amount can be spent to contain extremism.”
He also added that “I don’t want a blame game, I want clarifications on what is being done to prevent the export of terror.” He also repeated the statement from a Taliban leader where he said that “If there was no sanctuary in Pakistan, they wouldn’t last a month.” Stressing on the point he added that it is more important to fight cross-border terrorism and need aid in eliminating the threat that Afghanistan has been facing for years. In this regard, he thanked India for being a valued partner in fighting terrorism and that the relation with India has always been No-strings-attached one.
Dr. Ashraf Ghani added that the highest number of casualties last year were in Afghanistan and that it was unacceptable. In regard to this Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that “silence and inaction against terrorism in Afghanistan and our region will only embolden terrorists and their masters” also he said that this declaration calls for “concerted regional and international cooperation to ensure elimination of terrorism, in all its forms and manifestations, including dismantling of terrorist sanctuaries and safe havens in the Heart of Asia region, as well as disrupting all financial, tactical and logistical support for terrorism”.
