Desperate quest for Afghan peace

Optimistic reports on COAS’ Kabul talks

The maiden one day visit of the COAS to Kabul on Sunday at Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s invitation started well enough with a one-on-one meeting which was termed ‘constructive’, with the latter emphasizing friendly Pak-Afghan relations, followed by high- level delegation talks whose positive outcome can best be summed up in the tweet of one well-conversant participant, Afghan Ambassador to Pakistan,Dr. Omar Zakhilwal, ‘candid, respectful, constructive and encouraging meeting in a long time. I’m proud to have played a facilitating role in all this’, whose latter gushing tone goes beyond the dictates of normal reticent diplomacy, and hints at some solid progress. The whole gamut of issues was gone over, regional security, bilateral relations, peace and stability, anti-terrorism efforts, and trade and transit relationship, according to the Afghan Presidential office statement. The ISPR Press Release was similarly upbeat on these points and also on cooperating for long-term peace, intelligence sharing, coordinated campaigns to shrink terrorist’s space, people-to-people contacts, Afghan security forces training and focused dialogue at multiple levels to handle crisis situations and misunderstandings.

Frankly, such amiable sentiments have been voiced on numerous occasions in the past also, but they have turned out to  be like whispered ‘sweet nothings’. Pakistan’s options concerning Afghanistan are shrinking by the day, and it is literally being pushed in a corner by two adverse, interconnected factors. President Trump’s Afghan policy, which threateningly and unfairly puts the sole blame for the US’ past 16 year failure to win the Afghan war on Pakistan and the alleged safe havens of Haqqani network, also envisions an enlarged Indian role, something which is anathema for Pakistani strategists, for the frightful scenario of encirclement and two-fronts. The pro-Indian tilt of a segment of the Afghan establishment is also a cause of concern and a real hindrance when it comes to improving Pak-Afghan ties. Recent one-sided, biased and misleading  comments in New Delhi by James Mattis and  Abdullah Abdullah underscore Pakistan’s disquiet. Official policies and the ground situation may remain complex and uncertain, but the search for a realistic and workable solution must go on regardless.