Afghanistan

Mark Durkan Excerpts

Tuesday 18th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

Of course the Foreign Secretary leads on our relationships with Pakistan, but I am absolutely ready and willing to engage with my military counterparts in Pakistan if he wishes me to do so.

[Mark Durkan (Foyle) (SDLP)]

The Secretary of State has emphasised military transition, political inclusion and stabilisation. Is he sensitive to the concerns in Afghan civil society that the imperatives for the international community, and the interests of Afghan political powers in the context of those imperatives, may not extend to sustaining the advances that there have been in the status of women? As well as insisting that Afghanistan must never again be a safe haven for terrorists, will he outline the Government’s determination that it will never again be a theme park for atavistic prejudice against women?

[Mr Hammond]

I think that some of the gains already made, such as the education of girls, will be irreversible changes in Afghan society. We have made it very clear that we want to ensure that those gains are consolidated. However, it is not for us to dictate to the Afghan people their agenda for the future. It is for us to ensure that there is a climate of security and stability in which they can exercise their constitutional right to determine the future of their country in a way that does not threaten the security of ours.