Contrary to the claims and pretexts on part of the ruling junta and its loyalists regarding the boycott of the second Bonn conference, Pakistan has lost a valuable opportunity to explain the ground realities to the world and to reaffirm its stance on the war on terror.
No one can ignore the lack of trust between Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United States — the main stakeholders in war on terror — which led to further complexities in the alliance.
Since long, gatherings in Bonn have played a key role in addressing the Afghan crisis, mainly because of traditional relations between Germany and Afghanistan. During the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the German government extended help to Afghan refugees and militiamen, besides gathering the Afghan elite at Bonn with a view to help them evolve a suitable formula to resolve the conflict. Bonn is also accredited for hosting the internationally recognised conference, which concluded with the constitution of a new Afghan government under President Hamid Karzai after the collapse of Taliban rule.
At present when the Afghanistan situation in particular and the regional situation in general are worsening, the German government announced to host another gathering of the international community to discuss ways and means to resolve the Afghan conflict. Just ahead of the Bonn conference, NATO helicopters and aircraft attacked two Pakistani border posts and killed 24 soldiers. The barbaric action on the part of the US-led alliance was widely condemned by the global community, as Pakistan announced to cut NATO supplies to Afghanistan and pull out of the Bonn conference.
Despite offering numerous sacrifices in the war on terror, Pakistan routinely comes under fire for not “doing more” and even blamed for extending support to some militant groups. Not only its neighbours like India and Iran who are engaged in undeclared rivalries, a number of other countries are also suspicious of Pakistan’s role. Even the two major stakeholders of the ongoing war on terror — US and Afghanistan — publicly accused Pakistan of extending help and support to extremist groups. The Bonn conference was meant to pinpoint the causes of ongoing violence in Afghanistan, and discuss ways and means to combat the unrest. It was a valuable opportunity for Pakistan to explain its position on Afghanistan.
So far almost all the participants have eulogised the importance of Pakistan and even said that without Pakistan’s support no one could resolve the long standing Afghan conflict. The international community is not only supporting the war on terror, but also wants its early and logical conclusion, which is possible only with the cooperation between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The Pakistani leadership rightfully protested against the barbaric NATO strikes, but with boycotting the Bonn conference, it lost an important opportunity to highlight its stance on the Afghan conflict and could win the support of the international community in the favour of its point of view. Unlike the US and other countries in the NATO alliance, Pakistan is on the frontline. First, it faced multiple social and economic problems after allowing the Afghan refugees who were fleeing their country after the Soviet invasion. After entering the US-led war on terror, it suffered a loss of thousands of lives and infrastructure, besides losing foreign investment in the country due to security fears.
The country is still hosting more than 2.5 million Afghan refugees.
Keeping in view the reservations of certain members of the international community, particularly the US, Bonn was a suitable forum for Pakistan to explain its position and unearth ground realities. The war on terror and the long-standing Afghan conflict are political matters and could easily be resolved through political means. Currently Pakistan is being governed by a mature political leadership therefore it must ensure mustering maximum benefits of Bonn-like political gatherings.