Joint line of action
Hopes about understanding between Pakistan and Afghanistan were revived during the visit of a high level delegation from Afghanistan early this month to offer condolences on the death of veteran ANP leader Afzal Khan Lala. Deputy Chief Executive of Afghanistan Muhammad Khan, who led the 45-member delegation, said peace would never return to the region if the two countries did not adopt a joint line of action and build trust with each other. During the talks, he appealed to Pakhtun leaders in Pakistan and Afghanistan to play their role for peace and stability in the war-torn country. The delegation had come not only with the permission of the Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, but also brought a message from him paying tributes to Afzal Khan.
The initiative by the leadership of ANP, PkMAP and QWP to revive the stalled dialogue between the neighbouring countries should be welcomed. A delegation led by the leaders of the three parties was in Afghanistan on Thursday and Friday. That the delegation was invited by the Afghan government indicates Kabul is supportive of the ongoing unofficial moves to restart the suspended dialogue between the two countries. That Asfandyar Wali met Nawaz Sharif before proceeding to Kabul shows Pakistan’s government also has been taken into confidence about the purpose of the visit and has given go-ahead to the delegation.
President Ghani had emphasised the need to remove the serious misunderstandings that exist between the neighbouring countries before proceeding to talks with the Afghan Taliban. Kabul fears that Pakistan continues to use the Taliban and the Haqqani Network for projecting power in Afghanistan. Before traveling to Kabul the ANP chief proposed a joint meeting of the civilian and military leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan to end the existing trust deficit. The delegation leaders would be discussing with their Afghan partners how mutual trust can be restored. They can then share the suggestions with the prime minister on his return from France.