Top Pakistani officials concerned over Afghan security, warn of refugee influx and attacks

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's National Security Advisor Dr. Moeed Yusuf raised concern over Afghanistan's deteriorating security situation while briefing the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs on Friday, warning that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan militants could enter the country as refugees to launch another terrorist attack.
According to the local media, Yusuf maintained the situation in the neighboring country was "extremely bad" and beyond Pakistan's control.
"The region's peace is conditional on peace in Afghanistan," he was quoted by Dawn newspaper.
The national security advisor denied the Taliban presence in Pakistan, describing such assertions as "Indian propaganda."
He added it made strategic sense for the Afghan authorities to normalize relations with Pakistan since it was the only state that could "provide a trade route to the landlocked country" in the absence of US financial assistance.
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also warned of an impending civil war in Afghanistan in a separate presentation before the committee.
He claimed that any infighting in the war-battered country could lead to another refugee influx at a time when Pakistan was requesting the international community for the repatriation of 300,000 Afghan nationals residing in his country.
Qureshi reiterated the Pakistan government was interested to see a power-sharing agreement in Afghanistan to prevent factional fighting in the neighboring country.
He maintained that India was playing the role of a spoiler in the region since it did not want peace in Afghanistan or Pakistan.
"We have informed America, European nations and others about this," he said.
The foreign minister maintained while the US was pulling out its forces from Afghanistan, it was willing to work with Pakistan on broader counterterrorism initiatives.