2-way tussle; 3-way disappointment
The US has started withdrawing troops from Afghanistan and handing over control of selected districts to the Kabul administration. The Afghan Taliban have in the meanwhile killed important Karzai allies and police officials. On Tuesday, they attacked a guesthouse used by foreigners in a northern province. The incidents have naturally given cold feet to the Afghan government. The dissatisfaction expressed by the Afghan delegate over lack of progress at the trilateral talk is therefore understandable. The meeting failed to produce anything besides a vague agreement to take China, Russia and Iran into confidence and seek their assistance in the reconciliation process. That leaves the three countries neither here nor there.
Peace in Afghanistan has thus been held hostage by the differences persisting between Islamabad and Washington. These became particularly acute after the former’s refusal to set the CIA sleuth Raymond Davis free. The dispute touched a high point after the operation by the US Special Forces in Abbottabad. With the stoppage of $800 million in military support by the US, the accusations of ISI sources leaking vital information to Taliban, and the case against Ghulam Nabi Fai led the Pakistan army to charge Washington of conducting a slander campaign against the ISI.
Meanwhile, the stoppage of visas and the subsequent requirement that CIA officials may not be deployed inside Pakistan without taking Islamabad into confidence over their activities further soured relations between the two sides. The travel curbs imposed by Pakistan on foreign diplomats gave birth to more grievances. On Tuesday, discord continued to persist over the Haqqani group, with Pakistan and Afghanistan willing to include the outfit in the talks and the US strongly opposing it.
Peace in the region is not possible unless the bickering between the CIA and ISI is brought to an end. Any Afghan militant group practically demonstrating that it has cut off ties with Al-Qaeda and is willing to help bring peace in Afghanistan should be invited to the talks. Meanwhile the unending drone strikes should be stopped. Pakistan should meanwhile treat the terrorists as the principle threat to its security and smoke them out of their strongholds.