KABUL (Monitoring Desk): The Wolesi Jirga Speaker Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi met on Saturday with a Pakistani delegation, discussing Kabul-Islamabad ties and stability in Afghanistan.
Pakistani parliamentarians said Pakistan helped Afghans during the jihad against the then USSR, but they said Pakistan has not cooperated sincerely in the fight against corruption. The delegation stressed the need for strengthened ties between Kabul and Islamabad.
“Problems and challenges have to be led by our people, and we strongly believe that for a stable Pakistan, for a prosperous Pakistan, we need to see a stable and prosperous Afghanistan. This is the concern of people at home,” said Shazia Mary, member of Pakistan’s parliament and former minister of information and culture of Pakistan.
The Wolesi Jirga speaker said Afghanistan is a victim of terrorism in the region. He criticized Pakistan for the lack of sincere cooperation in anti-terror efforts.
“The required cooperation which was provided by the Pakistan nation and Pakistan government to Afghanistan during jihad, was not provided after the victory of mujahedeen,” Ibrahimi said. One member of the Pakistani delegation reacted to Ibrahimi’s remarks, and said: “No country suffered like Pakistan.
We used to have more than 2,500 bombings in Pakistan and we have launched the biggest operation against terrorism and extremism in Pakistan which is like no other country. We are getting out of it and our relations on that front are improving. The recent meeting of our
This comes as Islamabad is to host a meeting among lawmakers from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, China and Russia to discuss the war on terror. Ibrahimi was invited by the Pakistani delegation to attend the meeting next week in Islamabad.
Law on use of Afghan air space approved: President Ashraf Ghani’s legislative order on the use of Afghanistan’s airspace by airplanes and military helicopters of other nations was approved by the only one-third of parliament members in attendance on Saturday.
The new law has four sections and 27 articles, but its details have not been made public. The law that was approved sets out the specifications for the use of Afghanistan’s airspace by the foreign planes and military helicopters. For approving or rejecting any outline or draft law, at least 118 MPs should be present at the parliament, but on Saturday two-thirds of the MPs were absent. The present MPs hardly managed to approve the draft.
“It is clear to all of us that currently our airspace is being controlled by others and this law is for the future,” MP Ali Akbar Qasimi said. “The commission claims that Afghanistan’s airspace is not under our control and the law is for the future. Who knows what will happen in the future,” MP Amanullah Paiman said.
Meanwhile, the director of Afghanistan’s Civil Aviation Authority Habibi said next year they will install more radar machines to control military flights in Afghani-stan’s airspace.
However, a number of MPs believe that Afghanistan has no control over its airspace. Parliament’s speaker said MPs absence at the house’s sessions is a serious problem that is being faced. Also, parliament’s first secretary, Abdul Qadir Zazai Watandost, warned if any MP is absent over 40 days, then his membership will be canceled for the next sessions.
“If in the next sessions any MP is absent for 44 days, we will have to suspend his job in the future sessions,” Wa-tandost said. A number of M-Ps have meanwhile said only when the ministerial nominees come to the parliament for votes of confidence, did more MPs appear at the ho-use.
“They only come on the day that the ministerial nominees come for votes of confidence, to be part of their campaign in the future,” MP Nazifa Zaki said. “Our colleagues working in this section should prevent absence increases because a person goes away for his personal work and then says ‘ I was ill’,” MP Nader said.
