President Asif Ali Zardari will arrive in Kabul today (Tuesday) for a daylong visit during which he will discuss the recent cross-border attacks from Afghanistan on Pakistan’s frontier regions, as well as the ongoing reconciliation process between Kabul and the Taliban with a focus on Islamabad’s mediatory role. Zardari will have detailed discussions with his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai on the border incursions into Pakistan by the Taliban and the killing of dozens of Pakistani soldiers and citizens.
Pakistan wants Kabul and NATO forces to prevent the cross-border strikes by the Taliban into Pakistan, but their failure has led to tension in their relations with Islamabad. NATO officials say they have handed over security of Afghan areas adjoining Pakistani district of Dir and other regions targeted by the Taliban to Afghan security forces and Kabul, instead of taking any concrete preventive measures, blames Pakistani security forces of cross-border rocket attacks that allegedly killed scores of Afghan citizens.
“The serious issue of cross-border attacks by militants will be discussed at length during the talks between the two presidents and Zardari will be strongly urging his Afghan counterpart to take effective measures for their prevention,” an official said, wishing not to be named. He said the other important issue on the president’s agenda was the Afghan reconciliation process. “The president will discuss Pakistan’s role as a facilitator between the Karzai administration and the Mullah Omar-led Taliban,” he said.
In the wake of President Barack Obama’s announcement of troops’ withdrawal by 2014, Kabul has intensified efforts to persuade Islamabad to play the mediator between the Karzai government and Taliban. The official said President Zardari would also offer his condolences to President Karzai over the death of his half-brother Ahmed Wali Karzai.
President Zardari has visited London and Dubai more often than he has visited Peshawar, Lahore, Quetta, Multan, Sukkur, Hyderabad or Nowshera. Yet when it comes to foreign affairs, the Khakis are held responsible. The Supreme Commander of Pakistan Army has never visited North or South Waziristan or Swat, but has had the time to make several visits to Kabul. On his last visit to UK, which was basically a private visit the poor tax payers of Pakistan had to pay over Rs6 Crores, so that our President could chill out there. In order to justify this state expense he had a photo session visit to 10 Downing Street accompanied by his son Bilawal, who holds no official status and as such had no business to be present if this was an official business dialogue with UK PM.
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