Heart of Asia conference: Islamabad to push for dialogue, resolving issues

To hold meetings with India, Afghanistan on the sidelines

ISLAMABAD:

A civil-military huddle has decided to hold meetings with Indian and Afghan representatives on the sidelines of this week’s regional conference on Afghanistan to resume dialogue and discuss pressing issues.

According to his office, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif chaired a meeting on Saturday to finalise preparations for the two-day ministerial meeting of the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process that begins on Tuesday in Islamabad. Issues of regional and national security were also discussed.

Among the attendees were PM’s foreign affairs adviser Sartaj Aziz, National Security Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Nasir Janjua, Inter-Services Intelligence chief Gen Rizwan Akhtar, PM’s special assistant on foreign affairs Tariq Fatemi and other senior officials.



In the absence of Chief of Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif, the civil and military leadership discussed ways of making the most of the upcoming conference to resume dialogue with the two countries, said a source.

Pakistan will talk to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani about the pressing issues, including resumption of dialogue with the Afghan Taliban.

Although the conference is about infrastructure development of Afghanistan among other things, Pakistan would use the forum as an opportunity to resume dialogue with Afghanistan.

The source said Foreign Office representatives informed the huddle that Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj was very likely to attend the conference. Aziz will hold a detailed round of talks with her to resume the Pakistan-India dialogue, he added.



Nawaz has asked Aziz to be prepared if Sushma attends the forum, so the two countries could devise a framework for future communications.

The COAS might call on the premier before the conference kicks off to finalise a strategy for dealing with the Afghan and Indian representatives in the meetings.

Last month Pakistan had invited the top Indian diplomat for the ministerial meeting of the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process. Senior officials from 27 countries, including the United States, Russia, Iran, Turkey and China, will attend the conference to be inaugurated jointly by Ghani and Nawaz.

Earlier on Saturday, NSA Janjua called on PM Nawaz at the PM House and the two discussed national and regional security issues. A source said Janjua and Nawaz also discussed the Murree power-sharing agreement and the possible political change in Balochistan.



Under the Murree deal, Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik is supposed to complete half of the five-year constitutional term and make way for another chief minister from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.

It is believed that Premier Nawaz wants to go ahead with the deal and replace the incumbent chief minister with PML-N Balochistan President Sardar Sanaullah Zehri. However, Nawaz will hold consultative meetings with his party’s senior leaders in the coming days before making up his mind.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 6^th, 2015.