Peaceful relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan
The worsening security situation in Afghanistan has added to the worries of not only Pakistan but also many other countries. The issue was raised at a high level meeting on Afghanistan in New York co-chaired by Afghanistan, US and China as well as at the Central South Asia Security Conference in Munich where COAS Raheel Sharif put forth Pakistan’s point of view. With Afghan Taliban capturing Kunduz the concerns have been further strengthened.
The release of the news about Mullah Umar’s death put an end to the dialogue between Kabul and the Afghan Taliban. Meanwhile, devastating attacks inside Kabul put paid to the attempts at reconciliation. These also led Kabul to accuse Pakistan of using double standards regarding the terrorists.
Secretary of State John Kerry and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi have both underlined the need for re-initiating the process of reconciliation between the Afghan government and Taliban. While Kerry said other parties should encourage both to meet halfway, Wang Yi stressed the importance of good neighbourly relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan. In New York Sartaj Aziz volunteered to host another round of talks been the Afghan government and Pakistan.
Pakistan’s conventional relations with the Haqqani Network have made the task of the anti-Pakistan lobby in Kabul easy. Even President Ashraf Ghani has become a hostage to the lobby. The lost confidence can be regenerated and Kabul-Taliban talks re-initiated only if Pakistan can dispel the notion in Afghanistan and US that there are terrorist sanctuaries and support networks in Pakistan which continue to cause trouble inside Afghanistan. Gen Raheel Sharif said at Munich that peace and reconciliation are of vital importance while Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry assured that Pakistan has been in contact with the Afghan leadership and the dialogue process with it would continue. Whether Pakistan and Afghanistan possess the wisdom to revive mutual confidence and jointly kick start the Kabul-Taliban dialogue would become clear when the Heart of Asia Ministerial Conference meets to announce the Islamabad Charter in early December.
