Mumbai: Former Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai on Sunday welcomed the surgical strikes by Indian Army on terrorist camps in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir and said for long his country has been demanding terror sanctuaries be destroyed.
"We have been saying and wishing it since so long that terror sanctuaries be eliminated, and the Indian Army has done the right thing through its surgical strike," said Karzai.
He was here to attend The Mother Teresa Memorial International Award for Social Justice, 2016 program, organised by Harmony Foundation.
Speaking to reporters, Karzai said Pakistan-sponsored terrorism is a very serious issue, and his country hopes that the new regime in the the United States (under President-elect Donald Trump) would take it seriously.
Asked how the regime change in the US would affect Afghanistan, Karzai said, "We have a deep association with the US and we have been fighting against terrorism and extremism. However, we find more radical and extremist elements carrying out violent activities. Therefore, we hope that US will continue concentrating to stop the terror sanctuaries and those who are supporting it. We also hope that the US' strategic approach towards combating terrorism would not change," he said.
Both India and China were extending full cooperation to Afghanistan and the country is looking forward to working with both the countries amicably, Karzai said.
Asked how the Gwadar port project in Pakistan would affect the geopolitical equations, Karzai said, "It is an economic project and as far as its economic value is concerned, we all appreciate it. But since Pakistan is using extremist forces in our region, we feel that this project should not be in support of promoting extremism."
To the question whether the Trump government may adopt "hard policies on Muslims", he said, "We do not hope so. Rather we hope he will work with the Muslim as well as all the sections of the society to keep harmony and peace worldwide."
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