As the United States and Pakistan inch closer to the resumption of full-fledged counter-terrorism cooperation in the aftermath of a joint session of the parliament being held on Tuesday (tomorrow) to review relations with the US, the Obama administration is urging Islamabad to use its “good offices” for the revival of stalled peace dialogue with the Taliban in Qatar.
The talks between the US and Taliban, which were preliminary in nature and focused on exchange of prisoners, broke down in Qatar few days ago when the Obama administration refused to accept the Taliban’s demand for the release of their five important leaders detained at Guantanamo Bay prison.
The Taliban’s decision to suspend talks with the US has badly impacted the Obama administration’s plans for a safe exit from Afghanistan. With no chances of a military win over the Taliban insurgents, Washington is totally relying on a political settlement of the Afghanistan issue, and peace talks with the Taliban are the most important component of its strategy.
The demand for the release of five detainees in return for the freedom for a US soldier held by the Taliban was also a key condition by the Mullah Omar-led militants to hold talks on more contentious issues like the future government in Kabul and the share of Taliban.
The US, which is already being helped and assisted by Germany and Qatar in the resumption of talks with the Taliban, has now started urging Islamabad as well to help Washington to restore stalled talks with the militants.
“The US has requested Pakistan through diplomatic channels to help it in reviving broken talks with the Taliban, and Islamabad is currently looking into that request,” said a Pakistani diplomat on Sunday, seeking anonymity. He, however, said that any development on Pakistan’s possible role in the resumption of US-Taliban talks was possible only after the important joint session of the parliament on Tuesday. Pakistan is holding this joint session to approve the recommendations formulated by the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS) on new terms of engagement with the US vis-à-vis counter-terrorism cooperation. The session will hold debate on NATO supplies suspended last year in November by Islamabad in a strong reaction to NATO attack on Pakistani border posts, drone strikes and other conflicting matters.
A Pakistani security official, who also sought anonymity, said that full-fledged counter-terrorism cooperation with the US including the restoration of blocked NATO supplies was most likely after the parliament’s joint session.
However, he said that any decision whether Pakistan would use its “good offices” for the resumption of stalled Washington-Taliban talks depended on the outcome of upcoming talks between the senior US military and civilian officials and Pakistani authorities here in the wake of joint parliamentary session.
He said that US CENTCOM chief General James Mattis and American Special Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Marc Grossman would visit Islamabad for talks on future cooperation with Pakistan soon after the joint session of the parliament.
US asking Pakistan to help resume stalled talks with Taliban
