Pakistan has increased efforts to reach out to some of its biggest enemies in Afghanistan, a significant policy shift that could prove crucial to US-backed efforts to strike a peace deal in the neighbouring country, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The target of the diplomatic push has mainly been non-Pashtun political leaders who have been at odds with Pakistan for years because of the country’s historical support for the Afghan Taliban.
Pakistan is also worried that unrest in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of most foreign troops in 2014 could provide the Pakistani Taliban with greater space to establish sanctuaries across the border.
Pakistan’s concerns have led it to conclude that a peace agreement that includes all Afghan groups is in its best interests, and contact with its traditional foes among the non-Pashtuns is necessary to achieve that goal, said Moeed Yusuf, South Asia adviser for the United States Institute of Peace.
“I think the fundamental point here is that there is a serious realisation among some people who matter in Pakistan that they can’t continue to put all their eggs in the Taliban basket because it is too shaky,” said Yusuf.
“This is a major shift, and a shift that I think everybody should welcome.”
The outreach comes as Pakistan, Afghanistan and the US have stepped up efforts to breathe new life into the Taliban peace process, which has been hamstrung by distrust among all the parties involved.
The US and Pakistan recently set up working groups to identify which Taliban leaders would be open to reconciliation and to ensure those holed up on Pakistani territory would be able to travel to the site of talks. Pakistan and Afghanistan have been in discussions to revive a joint commission set up to discuss the peace process.
Pakistan first advertised its overtures to non-Pashtuns in Afghanistan in February when Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar met with a range of ethnic Tajik, Uzbek and Hazara leaders during a visit to Kabul. Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf followed suit in July when he travelled to Afghanistan and invited the group to the opening of the new Pakistani embassy in Kabul.
There have also been less publicised contacts by Pakistan’s ambassador to Kabul, Mohammad Sadiq, and the country’s army and intelligence service, according to Pakistani and Afghan officials.
Khar said the policy shift had been in the works for a while but was like a steering a large ship in a new direction.
“You’re not able to do it immediately,” said the foreign minister.
One key Afghan leader who has met with the Pakistanis, Abdullah Abdullah, said he appreciated the country’s recent attempt to reach out because it was done publicly. The influential politician, who was runner-up to Afghan President Hamid Karzai in the 2009 election, said Pakistani intelligence officials contacted him in previous years, but he refused to speak with them because he did not believe communication should be carried out in secret.
“I see a lot of good in reaching out, in engagement, in dialogue,” said Abdullah, who is half Pashtun but draws much of his support from the Tajik community.
The outreach has rattled the Taliban, who have warned Pakistani officials that they can’t trust the non-Pashtuns.
“The Pakistani side’s view of Afghan negotiations is that you kill on one day and kiss on the next, so while this will be very tough, they think that it’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility that they may actually get somewhere,” said Yusuf, the South Asia analyst.