Whatever might be a critic’s reaction, but Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani’s visit to Kabul is likely to become a milestone in the history of both the neighbouring countries, hostile to each other for over six decades. For the first time, top leaders from both the countries agreed on expanding a commission responsible for looking after the ongoing war on terror in the region. Now besides politicians or civilians, military commanders from both the countries would become part of the parleys, aimed at ways and means to combat violence and militancy in the region.
“I was surprised when Premier Gillani gave me the blank cheque at the very outset of April 16 meeting,” President Karzai told some of his close aides. According to close aides, Karzai had adjourned the meeting for 15 minutes just to take aides and colleagues into confidence. On such ways, now high-ranking authorities and close aides of President Karzai are considering the latest dialogues with Prime Minister Gilani as a new turning point in the history of Pakistan and Afghanistan. No one could neglect the fact that almost influential political circles from the two countries remained hostile to each other.
Due to deficiencies or shortfalls in policies, even Pakistani authorities had failed to make friends in Afghanistan despite giving hospitality to around five million Afghans for two and a half decades. Even the one-time, bue-eyed of Pakistan, Engineer Gulbadin Hekmatyar, also seems amongst those who are unhappy or disheartened by the policymakers, looking after affairs of Afghanistan. In fact, architects of such policies were making an attempt to benefit from Afghanistan’s geopolitical and economic compulsions. For the first time, the chief of army staff had accompanied Premier Gilani during his visit to Kabul along with the ISI chief.
In April 1992, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was also accompanied by the then COAS, but such a visit focused on congratulating Prof Sibghat Ullah Mujaddadi on his becoming the chief of Islamic government in Afghanistan after the resignation of Dr Najib Ullah. On such grounds, the citizens of Kabul, in particular, and the rest of Afghans are attaching great hopes with agreements and commitments made on April 16, 2011. Some 19 years before on this particular day, Dr Najib Ullah resigned and transferred power to the UN, after the failure of Pakistan-based mujahideen leaders in building up a consensus on the establishment of a broad-based government. And during these 19 years, the world has witnessed the worst kind of bloodshed and hostilities in Afghanistan.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are neighbouring countries; Thousands of the families of the two countries are linked in unbreakable relations with each other. Despite the partition of the subcontinent, thousands of families from Pakistan and India still maintain relations. And similar is the case of Afghans and Pakistan whatever might be atmosphere in Islamabad and Kabul. However, Pakistan’s unrealistic policies of influencing internal affairs of Afghanistan led to a bad image amongst the common Afghans. Such an era of “mistrust” between Islamabad and Kabul has enabled some of other neighbouring states, particularly India and Iran, to fill the vacuum.
Despite such an era of mistrust, no one could separate Pakistan and Afghanistan from each other. Now according to Afghan analysts and economic experts, Pakistan is the major contributor to the ongoing reconstruction in Afghanistan. Similarly, trade between the two countries during the Taliban regime was only 300 million US dollars but now it has reached more than three billion US dollars. Almost all the Afghans seem too much happy with the recent trip of Premier Gilani-led high ranking Pakistani delegation to Kabul. But they believe that commitments must be implemented.
With the implementation of commitments made between PM Gilani and President Karzai could lead both the countries to an era of economic progress and social prosperity. Now it is the time for peace-loving people from both the countries to support the policymakers and politicians to ensure implementation of the April 16 promises and commitments. Both the countries are facing similar socio-economic situation, political instability and the deteriorating law and order situation. Without building trust and faith, neither Pakistani nor Afghan authorities could get the goals of peace and stability.
