And the need to start working together
The swearing in of Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai as President of Afghanistan and head of the unity government provides a historic opportunity to both Pakistan and Afghanistan to recast their relations in a more friendly mould. The inauguration was attended by President Mamnoon Hussain who extended invitation to his Afghan counterpart to visit Islamabad. Pushtun leaders belonging to four different parties of Pakistan were also in the front row of the guests which indicates the close ties between the people of the two countries. The fact that relations have remained bitter for much of the time during the last many years is a matter for the two countries to ponder upon.
The neighbours stand a lot to gain from improvement in ties. Among other things this is needed to root out terrorism. The terrorists cross over to the other side of the border whenever they are pursued by the army of either of the two neighbours. This underlines the need for a coordinated action to eliminate the terrorist networks. What have stood in the way are mutual suspicions.
Pakistan and Afghanistan stand to benefit from an enhanced security in the region. They are signatories to two major gas and power projects, the TAPI and CASA-100. The projects cannot mature as long as terrorist networks are active in the areas through which the pipeline and the power transmission lines are to pass. What is urgently needed is serious confidence building measures between the two countries.
For most of the time elected governments in Pakistan were not allowed to formulate the Afghan policy. The ill-conceived notion of seeking strategic depth in Afghanistan was naturally resented by Kabul. The complaints by Kabul about allowing terrorist groups safe havens in NWA from where they launched attacks inside Afghanistan continued to be ignored for years. That the Karzai government subsequently provided bases to terrorist groups from Pakistan, was equally harmful. It is time both sides agreed on genuine mutual cooperation that should also include a coordinated struggle against terrorist groups.