Look for Osama in Karachi and Quetta, suggests Afghan diplomat
Int.News
05/27/2004
Washington: Said Tayeb Jawad, Afghan ambassador
to the United States, said here on Tuesday that the search for
Osama Bin Laden should be centred in Karachi or Quetta as the
chances of his being found in an isolated area were slim.
He was answering questions after delivering his
concluding address to a conference on Afghanistan organised
by the Middle East Institute.
Mr Jawad did not think Bin Laden was being “harboured”
in the Afghanistan-Pakistan tribal belt. He said the Al Qaeda
chief’s infrastructure stood destroyed and it would not
be long before he himself was caught. He pointed out that it
was logical to look for Bin Laden in the same areas from where
leading Al Qaeda figures had been arrested.
Reacting to an earlier speaker’s assertion
that Pakistan would continue to need “strategic depth”
in Afghanistan, the ambassador said it should be realised that
times had changed. The day of the Great Game was over and no
more games should be played in his country. A strong, democratic
Afghanistan was the best means of ensuring Pakistan’s
security, no less than that of Afghanistan itself. He said “strategic
depth” meant a weaker Afghanistan, whereas what was needed
was cooperation. He pointed out that Pakistan-Afghanistan trade
last year was worth $1 billion, a figure that could easily be
increased many times. There were so many economic opportunities
for Pakistan in Afghanistan, one factor being Central Asia.
Afghanistan, he stressed, wanted the most friendly relations
with Pakistan. Pakistan could play a very positive role in the
region. Any other policy would bring harm to both countries,
he added.
Mr Jawad, in answer to another question, called
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar a “criminal”. He said the Karzai
government had permitted those Taliban who wanted to return
to normal life to settle back in their villages. They had been
made more than welcome, but there was no question of any such
quarter being given to Hekmatyar and his kind because they had
committed crimes against the people of Afghanistan. “Their
day is done,” he declared. He stressed that the Karzai
government wanted to bring everybody into the fold, but there
would be no “negotiations” with those who were once
on the other side. “However, if they want to come back,
they will be welcomed,” he added. khalid hasan
"This declaration by the Ulema Council is an extremely
important statement of Islamic principles," says Said Tayeb
Jawad, Afghanistan's ambassador to the United States. "This
is the highest and most respected group of religious scholars
in the country and sends a powerful message in support of the
reform agenda of the government and its international partners.
It sends a strong signal to terrorists, elements of the Taliban
and other extremists who would thwart democracy in our country
and undermine the reconstruction efforts now under way there."
Jawad says that along with the newly adopted constitution
and the free and democratic elections scheduled for this summer
to establish a representative government, the Ulema Council
declaration makes clear that Afghanistan is emerging as a model
for Muslim countries, showing how to create a civil society,
assuring personal freedoms and good governance, within the cultural
embrace of traditional values and institutions. "We welcome
the declaration of the Ulema Council," Jawad says. "It
shows the progress and commitment of our government leaders
and the people who want to live free and in a safe environment
without fear of their government or tyrannical leadership."
Muslim scholars and leaders in Washington, Iraq
and Iran tell Insight that until the great strides exhibited
by the Afghan people are appreciated and emulated in other conflict
zones of the region, terrorists will likely continue to operate
there. "If the religious leaders in Iraq were to issue
such a declaration [as adopted by the Afghan Ulema Council]
the road to peace and stability would come much faster there,"
a high-ranking Middle Eastern diplomat agrees.
"The people of Iraq need to have just such
support from their various clerical and religious leaders, but
they are not yet getting it. We need to hear from these clerics
so that the people will have confidence to stand up to the extremists
and terrorists," said a Washington observer involved in
the rebuilding program in Iraq.
The Afghan Ulema Council also called on international
peacekeeping forces to work closely with Afghan authorities
and to afford detainees treatment in accord with Islamic Sharia
(Koranic laws) and Muslim culture, as well as the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights - which the Afghan constitution
has adopted to encode its policy.
"The Ulema Council of Afghanistan denounces
terrorism in any form, under any name and committed in any part
of the world. We consider terrorism contradictory to the principles
of Islam and humanity, and call on the international community
to confront terrorism in all its forms, including state-sponsored,"
says the 13-point declaration.
Ambassador Jawad observes, "These are very
strong words, and this is an extremely important development
not just for Afghans but for all Muslims who want to live in
a free society." Then he says firmly, "This shows
how it can be done."
Paul M. Rodriguez is the managing editor of Insight.
