Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani will visit Kabul on April 16 as part of efforts by Pakistan and Afghanistan to accelerate the reconciliation process aimed at finding a political solution to the decade-old war.
Gilani is visiting at the invitation of President Hamid Karzai to discuss the current security situation in Afghanistan and peace-making efforts with the Afghan Taliban, a Foreign Office official told The Express Tribune.
The two leaders will meet at the weekend against the backdrop of strained ties between Pakistan and the United States that appear to have also affected reconciliation process in Afghanistan.
Islamabad and Kabul had formed a joint commission in January this year to work out modalities for direct negotiations with the Afghan Taliban.
Headed by the Pakistani and Afghan foreign ministers, the bilateral commission will comprise top military and intelligence officials from both countries.
However, due to tensions between Islamabad and Washington, the proposed joint commission is yet to meet once.
The Pakistani foreign office confirmed that the joint commission could not hold its maiden session as yet but denied that the process was affected due to Islamabad’s frayed relations with Washington.
“The two countries are in process of notifying the members of the commission and once they are done with the formalities, the commission will start working,” said Foreign Office spokesperson Tehmina Janjua.
However, a security official acknowledged that the process of reconciliation in Afghanistan could not achieve the desired results until the Americans were on the same page.
“Pakistan and Afghanistan alone cannot make real progress..Americans are the key in this process,” said the official, who requested not to be named.
Gilani and President Karzai will review bilateral relations and try to evolve a joint strategy for the trilateral meeting between Pakistan, Afghanistan and the US on the Afghan impasse.
The talks were delayed due to tensions between Islamabad and Washington over the killing of two Pakistanis by a CIA contractor.
The trilateral meeting is expected to be rescheduled in coming weeks.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 14th, 2011.
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