President Ghani Says Pakistan ‘Spit’ on My Hand

President Ashraf Ghani says that the Taliban and Pakistan are responsible for instability and the ongoing violence in Afghanistan.

“Let’s understand who’s responsible for elevation of military use of force,” Speaking in a debate at the Council on Foreign Relations, President Ghani said,” I extended my hand to Pakistan, and they spit on it because they thought they could overthrow us.”

He added that he has reached out to Pakistan several times but Pakistan has refused to negotiate the differences.

“I reached out to Pakistan upon weeks of becoming president. I am the rare Afghan president, or the rare civilian leader in the area, to have gone to the army headquarters for a detailed conversation,” Ghani said,” unfortunately, repeated assurances that we would engage were not realize.”

He continued that he was looking to an opportunity to have a comprehensive dialogue with Islamabad.

“What would you like us to do when the capital of the country is attacked and every single civilian space is attacked, every mosque is attacked; should we hold our hands behind our back and offer surrender? We are not responsible for this war; the Taliban are,” President Ghani insisted.

Addressing the UN General Assembly, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi denied Taliban’s safe havens in his country.

Instead, Abbasi offered elimination of “Daesh, Al-Qaeda and their affiliates including the TTP and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar” and urged on promotion of negotiations between Kabul and the Afghan Taliban through the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG).

By Ahmad Farshad Saleh & Hesamuddin Hesam