パキスタン支援 アフガンとともに安定を図れ

The Yomiuri Shimbun(Apr. 18, 2009)
Stabilize Pakistan, Afghanistan together
パキスタン支援　アフガンとともに安定を図れ（4月18日付・読売社説）

To stabilize the situation in Afghanistan, which is struggling at the front line of the war on terrorism, support for its neighbor Pakistan must be expanded in a coordinated international action to bolster the security situation in both countries at the same time.
　テロとの戦いの最前線に立つアフガニスタンを安定化させるには、隣国パキスタンへの支援を強化し、両国を同時に安定に導く必要がある。

Thirty-one countries, including Britain, China and the United States, and 18 international organizations participated in a donors conference in Tokyo on Friday and decided to extend more than 5 billion dollars to Pakistan over the next two years. Japan and the United States each pledged 1 billion dollars.
　米英中など３１か国と１８国際機関が参加したパキスタン支援に関する会合が東京で開かれ、２年間で総額５０億ドル超の支援を行うことを決めた。日本は米国と並ぶ１０億ドルの支援を約束した。

Pakistan nearly defaulted on its debt last autumn, mainly because of the global financial crisis. Although the International Monetary Fund has decided to step in with an emergency loan program, the country was obliged to take steps to cut its fiscal deficit and adopt an austere monetary policy.
　パキスタンは昨年秋、世界同時不況のあおりで債務不履行の危機に直面した。国際通貨基金の融資で当面の危機は回避したものの、あわせて財政赤字削減や金融引き締めなどの義務が課せられた。

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Militants hide out in Pakistan

Two militant groups--the Taliban, which opposes the Afghan government, and members of the international terrorism organization Al-Qaida--are holed up along the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
　アフガンとの国境一帯は、反政府武装勢力タリバンや国際テロ組織アル・カーイダが潜伏する。

They have been attacking U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces deployed in Afghanistan from Pakistan. When they are repulsed by U.S. and NATO forces, they flee into Pakistan, complicating mop-up operations by the U.S. and European forces.
アフガンに展開する米欧軍に越境して攻撃を仕掛け、反撃を受けるとパキスタン側に逃げ込むため、米欧軍の掃討作戦は難航中だ。

Development of the region around Pakistan's border with Afghanistan has lagged behind, and the majority of the population there is poor. Cuts in development project budgets and the tight monetary policy may worsen poverty there and heighten the risk that the area, already a hotbed for terrorism, will breed even greater numbers of militants.
　国境一帯は開発が遅れ、貧困層が多い。開発予算の削減や金融引き締めで貧困が拡大し、今以上にテロの温床と化す恐れがある。

A destabilized Pakistan would be a nightmare for the international community because the country possesses nuclear weapons.
核保有国パキスタンの不安定化は国際社会にとって悪夢だ。

The participating nations at the donors conference decided to extend huge financial support to Pakistan because they decided that the vicious circle between poverty and terrorism must be ended.
　各国が支援会合でパキスタンへの巨額支援を打ち出したのは、貧困とテロの悪循環を断ち切る必要がある、との判断からだ。

However, there is little ground for optimism about the situation in Pakistan. President Asif Ali Zardari, who took office last year, is in confrontation with the opposition leader, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and lacks charisma.
　だが、先行きは決して楽観できない。昨年就任したザルダリ大統領は、野党指導者のシャリフ元首相と対立し、求心力が乏しい。

Another problem is the presence in the military and other sectors of the Pakistani government of elements sympathetic toward Islamic militants. Coupled with anti-U.S. sentiment due to across-the-border attacks by U.S. drones, the Taliban have expanded its sphere of influence.
　軍部などにイスラム過激派のシンパが少なからずいることも問題だ。米軍無人機の越境攻撃による反米感情も重なって、タリバンの活動地域は拡大しつつある。

Zardari told the Tokyo conference that he intended to maintain his country's antiterrorist policy and called for the cooperation of the international community in that endeavor. Japan, which hosted the conference, must support Pakistan through official development assistance and other programs.
　大統領は会合で、国内のテロ対策を進める考えを表明し、国際社会の協力を求めた。会合を主催した日本としても、パキスタンの取り組みを政府開発援助などを通じ後押ししていく必要があろう。

Also, international support for Afghanistan should be reinforced.
　アフガンに対する支援も強化しなければならない。

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Bigger role possible for Japan

The United States plans to send more troops to Afghanistan and expand its support for the livelihood of the Afghan people. The latter is a field in which Japan has long played a leading role, such as by constructing schools and clinics. Therefore, the scope for active involvement by Japan in the reconstruction of Afghanistan will expand, we believe.
　米国は軍の増派とともに民生分野の支援を拡大する方針だ。学校や診療所の建設など、日本が一貫して主導的役割を果たしてきた分野である。日本の活躍できる場も増えるだろう。

But in reality, support programs in the field have been mainly limited to those conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency and nongovernmental organizations. It has been pointed out that there is work in which the Self-Defense Forces can actively be involved, for instance, in participation in provincial reconstruction teams (PRTs) and dispatch of transport helicopters.
　だが、現状は国際協力機構（ＪＩＣＡ）や民間活動団体（ＮＧＯ）中心の支援に限られている。地域復興チーム（ＰＲＴ）への参加や輸送ヘリコプターの派遣など、自衛隊が活躍できる分野もあると指摘されている。

Although SDF dispatches to Afghanistan may be difficult under the current Diet situation, the government should keep studying the possibility of sending the SDF to the country.
　現下の国会情勢では難しかろうが、アフガンへの自衛隊派遣の可能性も引き続き探るべきだ。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, April 18, 2009)
（2009年4月18日01時28分 読売新聞）