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Afghanistan and Yemen

I find myself in agreement—non-violent, I hasten to say—with the hon. Gentleman about the importance of the political strategy. The right hon. Member for Richmond, Yorks (Mr. Hague) asked about Pakistan and international engagement, however, and I failed to answer him. He inquired about whether the reintegration fund would be available on the Pakistan side of the border, and the answer is no, because the situation involves Afghans who should be in the Afghan political system, not in the Pakistani political system. The hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr. Davey) asked which forums would be used for international engagement, and the region is debating that issue. There are already four or five different regional organisations, including the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and others, and there is an issue about co-ordination. There is also an issue, which the Afghan Government must address, about whether there should be a specific effort on Afghanistan. I think that there is a strong case for it. The hon. Gentleman is right that corruption afflicts many levels of the Afghan system. In a recent BBC poll, 95 per cent. of Afghans complained of corruption in local policing and governance. The importance of that was made clear not just to President Karzai but to all his Ministers who were at the conference, and they replied that it was important for them, too. However, implementation will be a key point, as the hon. Gentleman said, and the oversight board and other committees will be important in that respect. On local corruption, local police wages are important, and the way in which security is offered on the routes between major cities is an absolutely key point, so the security effort and the anti-corruption effort go together. The hon. Gentleman asked about the implementation of the peace and reconciliation effort. The money that is available does not exist as pots of money to be paid to individuals; it exists to provide for jobs, for deradicalisation and for the security of those who return to their communities. He is right to emphasise the importance of security, because the intimidation that the Taliban apply to the local population applies in spades to their former comrades. On that point, the security effort is the key. On Yemen, the hon. Gentleman will know that the Gulf countries have pledged large sums of money; we do not suffer from an absence of pledges on Yemen. We need them to be turned into reality, because of those made in London in 2006, only 7 per cent. have been delivered, notably those from the Gulf countries. An important part of the Gulf Co-operation Council's engagement will be not only Yemen's road to GCC membership or labour market issues, but aid issues.