National Security Adviser (NSA) Moeed Yusuf said on Tuesday that Western countries may have the luxury to disengage from Afghanistan but Pakistan did not have that option.

       The NSA was addressing a news conference in Islamabad after Pakistan and Uzbekistan signed a Protocol on the Establishment of Joint Security Commission that was followed by the inaugural session of the commission.

       During his address, the NSA said that Pakistan was criticised sometimes for being proactive in promoting engagement with Afghanistan. Explaining the rationale behind the stance, Yusuf said: "It may be a luxury for the Western world sitting 10,000 miles away [to not bother about Afghanistan] but we do not have any option to disengage from Afghanistan."

       Yusuf said the world needed to coordinate and constructively engage with the present Afghan government to avert a humanitarian crisis for the sake of the country's people — warning that a worse situation might develop if this was not done.

       "This is not a matter of the Taliban or some other government but of the ordinary Afghan [citizens]."

       He said that Afghanistan was in a state of war for four decades and its direct impact had been felt by Pakistan in lives lost, economic losses and rise in terrorism.

       "We are the biggest victim of this [instability in Afghanistan] so when we talk about stability in Afghanistan then one [reason] is that it is the right of our Afghan brothers and sisters [...] but secondly it is also necessary for our national security that there is stability in Afghanistan and continuous peace is established.

       "It is our right as Pakistan to remind the world about this," the NSA said.

       He reiterated that engagement with Afghanistan was not a political matter for Pakistan but a "humanitarian one and a matter of our national security".

       Yusuf said Uzbekistan shared the same stance with Pakistan on the war-torn country and there was a long discussion on the issue in today's meeting.

       Details of the commission meeting

       Regarding the details of the newly set up commission and what issues were discussed, Yusuf said it encompassed matters ranging from transnational crime, drug trafficking, cooperation against terrorism and mutual capacity building in areas such as disaster management.

       He said the issues would be further developed in the form of working groups and previous existing agreements would also be "revitalised" and taken forward in the same way.

       The NSA lamented that Pakistan had perhaps not benefitted from its geographical position in the past as it should have but now under the government's geo-economic paradigm, the process of connectivity via Pakistan was important.

       He said the Central Asian states would be a "crucial element" in the future for fulfilling Pakistan's geo-economic vision, adding that Uzbekistan, in particular, had a "critical role" to play.

       A press release issued by the National Security Division said that Yusuf met with Secretary of the Security Council of the Republic of Uzbekistan Lieutenant General Victor Makhmudov who is on a three-day visit to Pakistan.

       Regarding the signed protocol, the press release said that it "covered wide-ranging security related [to] matters of mutual interest and established [a] coordination mechanism between Pakistan's National Security Division and the Security Council of Uzbekistan".

       "During the inaugural session, both sides discussed various aspects of the newly formed joint commission and the way forward for making the commission effective and mutually beneficial," the press release reads.

       More to follow.

       Additional input from the Associated Press of Pakistan.