Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Thursday, March 28th, 2024

Conference Boycott in Pakistan’s Favor: Gilani

Conference Boycott in Pakistan’s Favor: Gilani

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan said on Wednesday it would not reverse its decision on boycotting the 2nd Bonn Conference, slated for December 5, on Afghanistan's future.
Islamabad announced on Tuesday would not attend the important meeting in Germany as a mark of protest over ISAF airstrikes on border checkpoints that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.
The attack dealt a major blow to the already strained relations between Islamabad and Washington. Subsequently, Pakistan lodged a strong protest with the US and NATO headquarters in Brussels over the "unprovoked" attack.

Also on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton regretted Pakistan's boycott of the conference. However, she voiced her optimism about the ally's continued cooperation.

"I would express regret and hope that perhaps there can be a follow-up way that we can have the benefit of Pakistani participation in this international effort to try to work a stable, secure a peaceful outcome in Afghanistan," she told reporters in the North Korea city of Busan.

A day earlier, President Hamid Karzai phoned the Pakistan prime minister to condole the soldiers' deaths. The Afghan leader also pleaded with Yusuf Raza Gilani for Pakistan's participation in the event.

Speaking to journalists in the port city of Karachi, Gilani said Afghanistan's soil had been used against Pakistan, whose security was more important to him than other considerations.

The Bonn conference was being held for stabilizing Afghanistan, while Pakistan had to work for its own security, he added. The boycott was in Islamabad's favor, the premier insisted.

Seeking respect for Pakistan's sovereignty, Gilani said his country wanted to have ties with the US on an equal footing. The US had been given a deadline of Dec. 4 to vacate the Shamsi airbase.