ISLAMABAD: A shared feeling of ‘betrayal’ purportedly brought about the thaw in Pak-Afghan ties.
Pakistani officials and Afghan diplomats say Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar’s visit to Kabul was planned after both countries strongly felt that they had been ‘ignored’ by the United States in the Qatar process of dialogue with the Afghan Taliban. Both sides are also ‘unhappy’ over the opening of the Taliban political office in the ‘less important’ state of Qatar, officials said.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, in his address to parliament last week, renewed his proposal that Saudi Arabia and Turkey are better choices for the Taliban office.
Officials say it is widely believed in Islamabad and Kabul that the US stepped up its talks with the Afghan Taliban in Qatar last September, following the breakdown in Pak-Afghan joint peace efforts.
Both Islamabad and Kabul were not kept in the loop, they add.
Officials say the US has now realised its ‘mistake’ of ‘ignoring’ the two countries and the recent visit to the region by US special envoy Marc Grossman was aimed at updating the two countries on what has happened in the US-Taliban interaction so far.
Pakistan snubbed the US envoy and refused to receive him in Islamabad on grounds that the parliamentary review of future Pak-US relationship was not yet complete.
Sources add that another reason behind the snub was its displeasure at being kept out of the loop.
The New York Times, however, recently claimed that Pakistani officials have acknowledged that Islamabad was on board over the opening of the Taliban political office in Qatar.
Islamabad ‘allowed’ a delegation of Afghan Taliban to travel to Qatar for talks with the American officials, the report had claimed.
Kabul, meanwhile, had publicly conveyed its reservations over US’ unilateral actions.
The Afghan government has not yet sent its ambassador back to Doha, who was recalled last month as a protest against Qatar’s decision to host the Taliban office without consulting the Afghan government.
An Afghan diplomat confirmed reports that Qatar will send a delegation to Kabul to discuss bilateral issues and both sides will then sign a memorandum of understanding for future ‘cooperation.’
“We have, in principle, agreed to receive the Qatari delegation,” the diplomat said, adding that the ambassador will be sent back once the relations are back to normal.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 30th, 2012.
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These Oil islands have questionable reputation for political and other interfearence in the region. Pakistani and afghan nationalists have to be careful as these states are conduits for implementation of "foreign agendas". Many reports suggests the Militants engaging Pakistani state have suppport coming from these Gulf Islands.
Talks have been failed anyways. US will come down to Islamabad soon.