No real goodwill from Karzai
No solid results were achieved at the Pakistan-Turkey-Afghanistan summit in Ankara as far as improvement in Pak Afghan relations is concerned. Mullah Fazlullah, responsible for hundreds of killings in Pakistan since taking over as TTP chief, would continue to enjoy Afghan hospitality with little hope of his being arrested or extradited to Pakistan. Similarly it would be vain to hope that Pakistan would put pressure on its Haqqani assets or the Afghan Taliban to enter into talks with the Karzai government whose tenure is scheduled to end in less than two months. In the absence of any concrete results it suited Nawaz Sharif to indulge in clichés like this being “a defining moment” in Afghanistan’s history and working to build together a “new chapter” in Pakistan-Afghanistan relations. This he combined with exhortations which he knew to be unrealistic like calling on all Afghans to come together, make peace and rebuild their country. There were some concerns, he pointed out, and the purpose of the summit was to iron out such concerns. But were the two sides really “quite successful” in addressing them as Sharif claimed?
Karazi, who is otherwise as straight as a corkscrew, was more forthcoming this time. When asked if the issue of alleged involvement of state and non-state actors from both sides in terrorist activities in the two countries came under discussion he said, without blinking an eye, that it was discussed in detail, but they had not yet found any outcome. As far as the presence of Fazlullah was concerned, he maintained that it was a direct consequence of ‘inaction’ and violation of the Afghan territory by the Taliban and terrorists. However, he said that as the process of cooperation moved forward, the two sides would be better able to tackle this issue. Paraphrased into simple English, Pakistan will have to do more to wheedle out Fazlullah from Afghanistan. In other words Islamabad must cooperate during the Afghan elections to the satisfaction of Karzai to enable the next government in Kabul to decide what to do with Fazlullah.
The summit’s theme this year was “A sustainable peace in the heart of Asia.” The main topics of the summit were security in Afghanistan after the NATO troop pullout, efforts to negotiate with the Taliban and measures to restore peace and promote reconciliation in the country and the region. The main benefit of the tripartite summitry, which started in 2007, is that it has brought Pakistan and Turkey closer, and that suits both countries. Gen Raheel Sharif has discussed with the Turkish military leadership defence and security cooperation, and measures contributing to regional stability. While Sharif may succeed in seeking investment from Turkey, he could extract no extra goodwill from Karazai.