OTTAWA, 20 September 2006 — Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay and his Australian counterpart Alexander Downer said they have “encouraged Pakistan government” to check the movement of Taleban between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
“It’s a tall order,” said MacKay, noting that Pakistan seems to be struggling to meet that challenge. But Downer suggested that some elements in Pakistan’s security forces were sympathetic to the Taleban.
The Australian minister expressed concern that there is “some sympathy” within Pakistani security forces for Taleban rebels. He said Taleban fighters were moving back and forth across the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. “They’re finding refuge in Pakistan,” he said.
“There’s no doubt there are people in Pakistan who support the Taleban, and, you know, we have some concerns that in the Pakistani security forces, there is some, what you might politely describe as some sympathy for the Taleban,” Downer said.
“So while it’s fair to say that (Pakistani) President (Pervez) Musharraf and his government have done a good job in the struggle against terrorism, nevertheless, there is a long way to go,” he added.
MacKay said stopping Taleban fighters from freely crossing the border was “essential to the final stabilization of Afghanistan.”
“We have and we will continue to encourage Pakistan and President Musharraf to see to it that there isn’t this free movement and flow of Taleban across the Afghan-Pakistani border, where training, where weaponry, and the type of safe haven that has existed in regions of Pakistan is allowed to continue,” he said.
The Australian Foreign Minister is currently visiting Canada.
