Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi deserves a lot of praise for his speech that he delivered in the UN where he made it clear to the entire world that Pakistan will never become "scapegoat" for Afghanistan's bloodshed or to fight wars for others. He has pointed out that "having suffered and sacrificed so much due to our role in the global counter-terrorism campaign, it is especially galling for Pakistan to be blamed for the military or political stalemate in Afghanistan." That Pakistan is not prepared to be anyone's scapegoat is a fact that has found its best expression from PM's following remarks:

"What Pakistan is not prepared to do is to fight the Afghan war on Pakistan's soil. Nor can we endorse any failed strategy that will prolong and intensify the suffering of the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan and other regional countries." The world must not lose sight of the fact that 27,000 Pakistanis have been killed by extremists since the launch of the US war on terror after the September 11, 2001 attacks. There is therefore a need for a priority on eliminating extremists, including from the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda, in Afghanistan but ultimately a political solution with the Taliban.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2017