Pakistan can play a better role in Afghanistan: Afghan Analyst

The meeting between President Musharraf, his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai, and the US president George Bush at Washington was very important particularly in the backdrop of growing displeasure in the relationship of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
To study the emerging scenario of Pak-Afghan relations and to find out policy options for Pakistan to improve its relations with Afghanistan, IPS held a Roundtable Conference entitled, “Pak-Afghan Relations:  Emerging Scenario” on October 11. Muhammad Zaman Muzammil, an Afghan writer and political analyst, was the key speaker while Let. Gen. (R) Hameed Gul chaired the conference.
Mr. Muzammil critically examined Pakistan’s policies on Afghanistan in the past and current. He was of the opinion that the present Afghan policy of Pakistan would only alienate Afghans. “Pakistan should devise a policy based on ground realities and should accept Afghanistan as sovereign state and its people as one nation’” he recommended.   
Let. Gen. (R) Hameed Gul commented that the presence of foreign forces in Afghanistan was the biggest threat to the security of two neighbor countries. He believed that foreign troops would withdraw from Afghanistan as Afghans would never accept foreign occupation or intervention on their soil. He suggested that Pakistan should formulate its balanced and comprehensive policy in face of the changing situation in Afghanistan.
The conference was attended by a select gathering of experts on Afghan affairs.