A number of Afghan coalition leaders and members of political parties on Monday criticised President Karzai’s recent remarks on Durand Line and calling it an attempt to increase public support in the elections.
These political parties said that President Karzai wants to make himself a hero with such slogans now that little time is left of his presidential term and that the presidential election is also ahead.
Political parties and political coalitions expressed surprise at why President Karzai was silent in the past eleven years and they said that such speeches only have advertising aspects and with such slogans problems of Durand Line will not be solved.
A leading member of Afghanistan National Front Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq said that Pakistan in the last ten years had constructed military border check posts and military installations in Afghan territory, and criticised why Karzai was silent so far.
“These remarks more seem like fables. If president Karzai wanted to work to clarify this event, he should have worked in the past ten years,” Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq told TOLOnews.
These party members called Karzai’s recent speeches demagogy and added that in recent eleven years, he has not done anything about the issue but even four years ago he impeded negotiations for Durand in Jirg-e Amn.
“By benefiting from such national issues, the President wants to stir people's emotions in his own interest in the election,” Ahmad Zia Masoud leader of Afghanistan National Front told TOLOnews.
“Durand Line issue will not be solved with such slogans. There must be diplomatic talks between both countries,” Fazil Sancharaki National Coalition spokesman said.
“President Karzai must find a rational and fundamental solution for this problem and this problem had to be solved 11 years ago. Now such speeches are useless,” Moien Marastyal member of Rights and Justice party said.
“I think President Karzi can talk about this issue, well he is the president and he has the right to talk about it,”Parliament’s First Vice speaker Mirwais Yasini said.
Meanwhile, some residents of Kabul city expressed different views about the Durand Line.
“Although these parts belong to Afghanistan, but I think now it is not the time to raise this issue,” a Kabul resident told TOLOnews.
It is said that ten years ago, Pakistan with the help of coalition forces moved their 11 outposts and utilities from their pervious locations to Goshta district of eastern Nangarhar province alongside the Durand line.
A leading member of Afghanistan National Front Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq, also alleged that Pakistan had even distributed Pakistani identity cards to the border residents.
The comments come after President Karzai on Saturday said that Afghanistan had never recognised the Durand Line, a remark made during a speech about the recent border clash between the Afghan and Pakistani border forces in which at least one Afghan soldier was killed.