Pak-Afghan differences remain unresolved

Need for genuine confidence building measures

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit provided Nawaz Sharif an opportunity to hold talks with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. The meeting initially scheduled for half an hour was however prolonged to nearly an hour. That there was no joint statement after the talks indicated that there was no agreement on how to resolve major differences.

Each one of the two countries continues to accuse the other of allowing terrorists network to use its territory as a launching pad to play havoc in the other’s domain. Lists of wanted terrorists and organisations have been exchanged along with demands for action. There being no end to the deep rooted mistrust between the two sides, both maintain that no action is being taken by the other side. According to FO, Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to use the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) as well as bilateral mechanisms for verification of each other’s actions against terrorist groups. If true, the agreement could have been announced jointly from Astana.

The facts on ground tell a different story. Mutual consultations and use of bilateral channels has yet to show any positive results. In April a military delegation from Pakistan held talks with their Afghan counterparts in Kabul. It was followed by a parliamentary delegation from Pakistan. Within days of the visits however there were violent clashes between the two sides at Chaman leading to several casualties on the part of civilian and security personnel on both sides. While one welcomes the Astana meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and President Ashraf Ghani, one has yet to see any positive development on ground. The QCG has not met for over a year now. With Trump administration yet to decide its Afghan policy, activating QCG may not be immediately possible. Pakistan badly needs to improve relations with Afghanistan to ensure its own security and stability. Islamabad should come up with more realistic suggestions regarding a commonly acceptable mechanism for verification of action against terrorist groups.