VILLINGILI ISLAND, MALDIVES: Efforts to defuse tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan appeared to suffer a setback here on Friday when a meeting between Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and President Hamid Karzai concluded on a less than positive note.
According to sources, the Afghan president refused to move forward until “Islamabad fully cooperates in the Burhanuddin Rabbani murder probe and takes practical steps to stop violence in his country”.
President Karzai and PM Gilani met in the Shangri-La resort hotel on the sidelines of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) summit in an attempt to repair ties damaged in the aftermath of the killing of Rabbani.
Afghan officials claim that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was behind the killing of the former Afghan president and allege that the suicide bomber was a Pakistani citizen linked with the so-called ‘Quetta Shura’.
The talks, which lasted over an hour, remained tense as both sides tried to hold each other responsible for the current ‘impasse’ in the relationship, a senior Pakistani official, who attended the meeting told The Express Tribune.
“The prime minister began his discussion by expressing regret over the blame game initiated by Afghanistan following the assassination of Rabbani,” said the official, who chose to remain anonymous. “It is unfair that you accuse us publicly,” the official quoted Gilani as telling Karzai.
Another Pakistani said that Afghanistan had linked the normalisation of the relationship to Pakistan fully assisting in Rabbani’s murder probe and steps to stop violence in the country.
He said that Gilani informed Karzai that Islamabad was ready to cooperate in the investigation under the mechanism agreed between Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkey at the recently held trilateral meeting in Istanbul.
But that was not the only stumbling block – Afghanistan’s belief that Pakistan’s military establishment still enjoys considerable clout over the Taliban is also compounding the situation.
“They (Afghanistan) think the Taliban are in our pockets. They think we are directing them,” the official disclosed.
Gilani plays down strain
The body language of Karzai and Gilani also seemed worrying when they briefly appeared before the media.
“The assassination of Professor Rabbani is indeed a serious setback to the reconciliation process,” the Afghan President said.
Gilani attempted to play down the strain in ties by insisting that the relationship between the two countries was heading in the right direction. He said Rabbani was a friend of Pakistan and his government would extend all possible help in the probe.
‘Positive evaluation’
Commenting on the meeting between the prime ministers of Pakistan and India, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said on Friday that Pakistan had positively evaluated the talks and welcomed India’s readiness for a broad ranging engagement. A statement issued on Friday quoted Khar as saying that the bilateral summit had contributed to “impel a seriousness of purpose to the process of engagement”.
Khar said the interior secretaries of the two countries had been mandated to discuss measures involving counter-terrorism and added that Interior Minister Rehman Malik was prepared to visit New Delhi.
India reacts to talks
Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s statement describing his Pakistani counterpart Yousaf Raza Gilani as a “man of peace” has been received with scepticism by opposition parties in India, reported Express 24/7.
BJP’s Yashwant Sinha said that there is nothing Pakistan has done to warrant the impression that its leadership is serious about tackling the issue.
Nevertheless, in his statement, Singh expressed hope that the current round of talks will lead to peace and harmony between the two countries.
According to reports, the Indian PM has said that his country has decided to move towards a preferential trade agreement with Pakistan.
(Read: Renewed promise of SAARC)
(WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT BY NEWS DESK)
Published in The Express Tribune, November 12th, 2011.
COMMENTS (12)
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Its Pakistan which create problem in south Asia there and there intelligence ISI there are not faithfull to any one. Nor there faithful to Americans nor Chinese nor Indians nor Afghanistan its Pakistan which create problem and cry any one point at them.
@Zack: "All the head of the State (India Pakistan Afghanistan Iran) should have taken this golden opportunity to sort out things and strategy in this SAARC Summit"
Iran is not a member of SAARC and was not invited. Afghanistan is also not a member of SAARC but was present as an observer. SAARC consists of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,Nepal, Maldives, Burma.
Afghanistan is a preoccupied Territory..Gilani should zip karzai's mouth with his hands and make him listen to what Pakistan wants for the betterment of afghan people,,One wonders why karzai is showing cockiness,even half of afghanistan is still ruled by western forces ,,?
The best way to move forward is to close the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Then the ramblings of Karzai can stop and he can't blame others for his own failings or the devious games of his own people.
Just check only two months of Karzai's political statements....there is great deal of inconsistencies/ discrepancies in his thoughts and remarks.......sometimes, he refers pakistan responsible, sometimes brothers, sometimes he get upset.....he needs to learn diplomacy...seems he didn't learn from his two tenure....engaging country's politics with this inconsistent manner cause him great set back in West and in the region.......He seems to fix his stature within Afghan community , who have a great resentment for him....
All the head of the State (India Pakistan Afghanistan Iran) should have taken this golden opportunity to sort out things and strategy in this SAARC Summit and should have taken responsibility if any one was culprit.
They miss it and infect they don't wish as well.
REgards
Let the talks continue but the damage has been done in retaliation to Pakistan's suspicions on the American agenda. Defense and Trade agreements have been signed with India and a northern base co-operation agreement is in the nego-tiation process with the USA. Karzai seems to have cemented his stay in Kabul. Albeit hopefully. Well, let us see where the buck stops.
Now the USA is cozying upto us for a safe and sound withdrawal and leaving their 'pockets of irritation' all around. All they can see and do is leave a sticky problem where and whence they go with their perennial habit of creating a bogeyman.
Frankly, it's a short to medium term mistake and that will backfire. Salams
If Karzai is so sure that the ISI is behind the murder of Rabbani then why do they want to waste their time with an investigation?
"He said Rabbani was a friend of Pakistan " So is Karzai.
Add two plus rwo.
Was Karazai a footballer when he was young? Just curious to look at his blade head =P
What is that character Rehman Mailk doing back there? Does an Interior Minister really need to be travelling for foreign conferences, his job should mainly consist of domestic work and once that is near perfect then after that maybe he should even think about going around acting as a tail for Zardari/Gilani and accompanying them on overseas trips.
It seems Pakistan is increasingly playing a significant role in the region - a trilateral meeting between Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan, a trilateral summit in Istanbul not long ago between Zardari, Karzai and Abdullah Gül. Why not make these talks multilateral?