Local media on Monday quoted Sheikh Rashid Ahmad as saying that developments in Afghanistan had highlighted the role of regional actors, including neighbors.
Pakistani Interior Minister visited the Torkham border crossing in the northwest of the country yesterday and the joint border crossing with Afghanistan.
In a conversation with media, the minster without naming the US said that with its defeat in Afghanistan, the pressure from those countries that are thousands of kilometers away from our region is over.
He added: Our region is safe from the pressure of extra-regional powers and our prediction is that soon a new and important bloc will be formed with the participation of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Pakistan, Russia, and China to establish a lasting peace in the region.
Sheikh Rashid Ahmad denied the claims of some media of subcontinent that a large number of people were present at the Torkham border and that there were Afghan refugee camps. He made it clear that there was no such camp.
He said Pakistan had completed the safe evacuation of 10,000 persons from Afghanistan, adding that 21-day transit visa was being given on arrival. He said Pakistan was supporting the foreigners’ evacuation after the takeover of the Taliban in Afghanistan on humanitarian grounds.
He stressed that after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, the sensitivity and importance of the region has doubled and there is a strong possibility of forming a new bloc with the presence of Afghanistan's key neighbors.
Earlier, the head of Pakistan’s Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly in an interview with IRNA, stressing need to strengthen Iran-Pakistan ties, said a new powerful bloc with Tehran-Islamabad’s participation is imminent.
Malik Muhammad Ehsan Ullah Tiwana said Pakistan is making decisions keeping view on its national interests, adding that some countries may try to put pressure on us with loans or grants, but this method will not work.
He said, "We want to form a powerful new regional bloc with the Islamic Republic of Iran, China, Russia, Malaysia and Turkey."
In June this year, a poll conducted by Islamabad Institute for Political Research (IPRI) suggested a regional partnership plan to help resolve the Afghan issue with the participation of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Pakistan, China, and Russia.
The Islamic Republic of Iran and Pakistan, two of Afghanistan's neighbors, hosting millions of Afghan refugees, have been instrumental in managing efforts to help the situation in Afghanistan. At the same time, some extra-regional powers, led by the United States, are constantly striving to pave the way for regional cooperation.
The worrying situation of Afghanistan requires the regional countries to move towards a geopolitical convergence and the creation of political, economic, and security mechanisms for the welfare of the nations of the region.
The expansion of intra-regional cooperation with the presence of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the constructive coordination of neighboring countries provides suitable grounds for development, development, comfort, and welfare of the nations of the region.
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