Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday urged Pakistan not to forge its policy on Afghanistan based on its rivalries with either India or the United States.
`We want Pakistan to have an independent policy towards Afghanistan. It should not look at Afghanistan based on its relations with India and America. Pakistan should approach us as its neighbour, Mr Karzai told the local television.
Relations between Pakistan and the US, which is fighting a 10-year war against the Taliban, have fallen to a new low following the Nov 26 Nato air strikes which killed two dozen Pakistani soldiers.
Mr Karzai said he was trying not to involve his country in regional rivalries, so that when Nato-led foreign combat troops withdraw in 2014, Afghanistan can become a successful centre for international business.
`We are trying to turn Afghanistan into a country where in the years between 2014 and 2024 it won`t be a scene of negative rivalries and clashes,` he said.
`Instead it will be a place for cooperation, business and economy, and a main transition route between central, south and east Asia.
Indian involvement in Afghanistan is extremely sensitive because of the delicate and often deadly power games in South Asia, with Pakistan vehemently opposed to India meddling in what it considers its backyard.
Meanwhile, the Afghan deputy foreign minister appealed for international help to boost talks with the Taliban and other armed opposition groups.
At a UN Security Council debate, Jawed Ludin stressed the government`s determination to pursue reconciliation efforts despite Taliban attacks and assassinations.-Agencies
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