Impact – Regional Conflict

Impact – Terrorism

He said that Pakistan, like other CICA member countries is deeply concerned on the continued instability in Afghanistan. We have(has) been closely working with Turkey and other partner countries for peace, stability and re-construction in Afghanistan. We support President Hamid Karzai’s initiative of national reconciliation and re-integration. Pakistan has high stakes in peace and stability in Afghanistan, as it would facilitate early return of 3.5 million Afghan refugees to their homeland in honor and dignity, further instability in Afghanistan would foster increased levels of terrorism. He further said that Terrorism remains the paramount security threat confronting the world today. As a neighbor of Afghanistan, Pakistan has been in the forefront of the fight against terrorism. We have suffered enormous losses both in human lives and material, which include more than 2500 security personnel and 10,000 civilians. Economic losses exceed US$ 40 billion. We even lost our most charismatic and popular leader, former Prime Minister Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto to a terrorist’s bullet. All this has not dented our resolve. If anything, it has led to a national consensus in Pakistan that we must root out terrorism from our territory and the region at large. We are determined to pursue the terrorists to the very end. We are pursuing a 3Ds strategy (Dialogue, Development and Deterrence) to eradicate terrorism from our land. The law enforcement operations in Swat, South Waziristan, Bajaur, and Mahmand agencies have met great success, FM pointed.

WASHINGTON, April 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. military believes only a quarter of Afghans in key areas support President Hamid Karzai's government and that political will to tackle corruption "remains doubtful," according to a Pentagon assessment released on Wednesday. The 152-page Pentagon report to Congress underscores the extent of concerns about Karzai's ability to prove himself a viable partner to NATO efforts to turn the tide in more than eight-year-old conflict. It also comes just ahead of Karzai's May 10-14 visit to Washington, where he will meet U.S. President Barack Obama and likely attempt to soothe concerns about the effectiveness of a costly deployment of 30,000 additional U.S. forces. "While Afghanistan has achieved some progress on anti-corruption, particular with regard to legal and institutional reforms, real change remains elusive and political will, in particular, remains doubtful," it said. It warned that public perceptions of the government on corruption are "decidedly negative," and that blame extended to both international forces and the international community. The report said the population only supports Karzai's government in 29 of the 121 Afghan districts considered most strategically important in the war effort. "Perceptions of corruption within the Afghan government, the inability of the government to provide essential services, and exploitative behavior of some government officials and (Afghan security forces) are contributing to the success of the insurgents' campaign," it said, “and creating more need of American troops.”

What would be the consequences of a nuclear attack by terrorists? Even if it fails, it would further exacerbate the negative features of the new and frightening world in which we are now living. Societies would close in on themselves, police measures would be stepped up at the expense of human rights, tensions between civilisations and religions would rise and ethnic conflicts would proliferate. It would also speed up the arms race and develop the awareness that a different type of world order is imperative if humankind is to survive. But the still more critical scenario is if the attack succeeds. This could lead to a third world war, from which no one will emerge victorious. Unlike a conventional war which ends when one side triumphs over another, this war will be without winners and losers. When nuclear pollution infects the whole planet, we will all be losers.