Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Afghan President Hamid Karzai met on Tuesday in an effort to bolster a fragile peace outreach to Afghanistan’s Taliban insurgency.
British Prime Minister David Cameron hosted Tuesday’s talks on the sidelines of the World Islamic Economic Forum, his office said. There were no immediate details about the talks’ outcome. Cameron’s office said the three leaders engaged in discussions on regional stability. “They discussed economic cooperation and the Afghan-led peace process, to which they all reaffirmed their continuing commitment,” the Downing Street spokesperson said. The meeting in London comes at a crucial moment in Pakistan-Afghanistan relations. US and international combat troops are set to withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of next year, raising concerns about violence and instability that could spill across Afghanistan’s borders. A recent US operation to detain a Pakistani Taliban leader who was in contact with Afghan government officials prompted rebuke from Karzai’s government. Afghan officials say Pakistan’s influence is essential to bringing the Afghan Taliban leadership to the negotiating table. Islamabad acknowledges communication with the militant group, but says it has no direct control over the Taliban. A similar trilateral meeting hosted by Cameron in February raised hopes for the reconciliation process, as Karzai and then-Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari pledged to work toward reaching a peace settlement with the Taliban within six months. But despite public optimism, relations between Kabul and Islamabad deteriorated in the months after that meeting as cross-border clashes and strident nationalistic rhetoric emerged from both sides. After the February meeting, the two sides committed to holding a conference of Islamic scholars that would condemn suicide bombing. But Pakistani clerics dropped out of the conference and began making statements in support of Afghan Taliban insurgents, infuriating Karzai.
But the election of Sharif, who came to power in June after historic elections, helped reset relations between Islamabad and Kabul. In advance of the meeting, Afghan officials raised expectations that the talks might build on a budding rapport between the Afghan and Pakistani leaders. “We have a feeling that Nawaz Sharif has good intentions,” said Aimal Faizi, Karzai’s spokesman, in advance of the visit. A key topic of discussion between Islamabad and Kabul is the Pakistani government’s recent move to free Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the former deputy leader of the Afghan Taliban. The Pakistani government recently announced it had freed Mullah Baradar to facilitate outreach to the Taliban, but Afghan officials say he remains under strict supervision of the Pakistani authorities. Faizi, Karzai’s spokesman, told reporters that the Afghan delegation would press for more information on the whereabouts of Mullah Baradar, so that the High Peace Council could communicate with him.
PM asks Pakistani Taliban to join political process
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday asked the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan to join peace talks with his government and “become part of the political process”. Sharif, in London on an official visit, said his government wants peace in Pakistan and the region. In an interview with a TV channel‚ Nawaz said his government is serious about the negotiations. He said he had tasked Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan to pursue talks with the Taliban, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. Sharif “called upon the Taliban to join the peace process and become part of the political process”, the report said.
