NSA says he won’t attend conference in India

ISLAMABAD: National Security Adviser (NSA) Dr Moeed Yusuf Tuesday announced he would not attend a conference in India on Afghanistan. “No, I will not go there. A spoiler of peace cannot become a peacemaker,” he said while responding to a question whether he would attend a conference on Afghanistan in India, on the invitation of his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval.

He was talking to the media after signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Pakistan and Uzbekistan on the establishment of a joint security commission to enhance cooperation on security-related matters.

India plans to host a national security adviser-level meeting on Afghanistan in New Delhi in the second week of November. According to Indian media reports, besides Pakistan, the Indian host has also invited China, Russia, Iran, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Indian NSA Ajit Doval would chair the meeting to be organised by the National Security Council Secretariat.

The NSA also regretted silence of the international community over massive human rights violations in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The signing ceremony was followed by the inaugural session of the commission formed under the protocol.

Secretary of the Security Council of Uzbekistan Lt-Gen Victor Makhmudov and National Security Advisor Dr Moeed Yusuf led the respective delegations. The protocol covers wide-ranging security related matters of mutual interest and establishes coordination mechanism between Pakistan's National Security Division and the Security Council of Uzbekistan under their respective heads.

Talking to the media after the signing ceremony, NSA Moeed Yusuf said that Pakistan was leveraging its geo-economic position by partnering with world countries, including Central Asian states. He said the protocol would help boost relations between the two countries.

The adviser said the protocol would help achieve cooperation on terrorism, drug trafficking and disaster management. Regarding Afghanistan, Moeed Yusuf said Pakistan and Uzbekistan agreed on key issues of Afghanistan. He said that peace in Afghanistan was a matter of national security for Pakistan and it was also right of Afghan people to have peace after violence of four decades.

He said peace in Afghanistan was a matter of national security for Pakistan and it was the right of the Afghans to have peace after protracted violence over the past four decades. He urged the world economies to extend support to people of Afghanistan to avert humanitarian crisis there, where a humanitarian crisis can emerge.

During the inaugural session, both sides discussed various aspects of the newly formed joint commission and the way forward for making the commission effective and mutually beneficial. The evolving situation in Afghanistan and the need to remain constructively engaged was also discussed. Uzbekistan would host the second session of the Joint Security Commission, next year.