Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, panel.
I'm delighted to see the report. I read it with interest, and I'm glad that finally we will not be debating from the superficial information that we've had in the past.
I would like to bring your attention to and receive your comment on how you envisage the type of engagement we can have with Pakistan. Your report calls for a forceful representation with Afghanistan's neighbours, and in particular Pakistan, to reduce the risk posed to regional stability and security. In your assessment, to what extent does the security of Afghanistan, particularly in Kandahar, depend on developments in Pakistan?
I'd also like to add that when you wrote these comments there was a lot of disturbance in Pakistan, and I agree--insurgency thrives in chaos. But since then there has been an election. The country seems to be on the road to democracy. If you talk to the Pakistanis, they will tell us--as they will tell you, probably--that they have a hundred thousand soldiers deployed, and they've taken heavy casualties. They have one full corps deployed in Peshawar.
I would like you to shed some light as to what type of engagement we're talking about. Are we talking about two different prisms--increasing the capacity to tackle the problem, or strictly a diplomatic offensive?