- The moot is likely to be attended by representatives of around 20 countries
Kabul is all set to host an international peace moot on Tuesday which is likely to be attended by representatives of around 20 countries in a bid to help bring peace and development to the war-torn country.
Many parts of Kabul remain closed ahead of the conference as extraordinary security arrangements were put in place for the moot.
It is, however, heartening to note that despite recent bomb attacks, the participants of the conference have decided to attend the moot.
The conference, titled as “Kabul Process” is being attended by Pakistan, Russia, China, US, India and others.
Presidential spokesman Shah Hussain Murtazawi told journalists in Kabul that the conference is meant to reach a “consensus with the region and the world” for peace in Afghanistan.
Analysts believe that despite Afghanistan accusing Pakistan of facilitating terrorists on its soil, Pakistan’s participation in the moot reflects its continued commitment to the regional peace and stability.
“While Afghanistan ditched Pakistan and it sided with India like a crony when it came to the decision of boycotting the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) last year, Pakistan attended the Heart of Asia moot held in Amritsar. Rather than appreciating Pakistan’s generous gesture, Kabul sided with New Delhi at the moot, despite the fact that all other participants stood by Pakistan,” said Lt Gen (r) Amjad Shoaib.
He said that the international community would also notice the fact that Pakistan has decided to attend the Kabul Process session despite a hostile environment in Kabul.
Eminent Afghan affairs analyst Imtiaz Gul also expressed the similar views as Amjad Shoaib.
“The air is already very toxic in Kabul as far as Pakistan is concerned. Pakistan would be attending the moot with a lot of disadvantage. But the blame game is nothing unusual,” he added.
He said that messy situation in Afghanistan was due to the inter-afghan differences and the countries committed to making region peaceful should join hands. The Kabul bombing looked like a well-conceived plan to fail the conference, he said.
Asked whether any tangible result would come out of the conference, Gul said that it depends on how the countries, which see Taliban as a legitimate party to the conflict, build their case.
“I believe this is a sequel to the Kabul process recently held in Moscow. As far as we know, Pakistan, Iranians, Russian and Chinese view Taliban as a legitimate party to the conflict. Let’s see how they build their arguments against those who don’t see Taliban a relevant party,” he added.
He said that the Moscow moot was overshadowed by geopolitics. He said there are cynics who believe that Mother of All Bombs (MOAB), which was dropped on Afghanistan only a day before the Moscow Conference, was also a tactic to damage the conference held in Russia.
He said a diplomatic source had expressed serious doubts over the MOAB story as perhaps the objective was to hoodwink the terrorists and foil the Moscow meeting.
“We would have to see how Iran positions itself after the Riyadh summit. Iran obviously would be worried about the presence of American airbase in Afghanistan’s Faryab Province,” he concluded.