Breaking the ice, Islamabad reaches out to Kabul

PM Nawaz meets Ashraf Ghani in Ashgabat; army chief calls Dr Abdullah Abdullah

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Afghanistan have resumed high-level contacts rekindling hopes for normalisation of their bilateral relationship.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met Afghan President Dr Ashraf Ghani in Ashgabat on the sidelines of the Global Conference on Sustainable Transport and the outgoing army chief, General Raheel Sharif, spoke to Afghan Chief Executive Dr Abdullah Abdullah on the phone.



The prime minister and the army chief contacted the Afghan leaders at a time when Islamabad has stepped up efforts to encourage the Taliban to join the peace process.

The Express Tribune has learnt that there had been some diplomatic efforts this month when a three-member Taliban delegation was in Pakistan’s capital to explore peace prospects.

“The Taliban’s Qatar office is now considering a strategy for possible political negotiations,” a member of the Taliban office in Qatar told The Express Tribune this week.

Nawaz and Ghani discussed peace prospects and the former ‘appreciated’ Afghan government’s efforts for peace and stability in the strife-torn country. “[He] also expressed support to the peace deal between Afghan government and Hizb-e-Islami Afghanistan,” the PM office said in a statement.



The prime minister said a politically negotiated settlement through an Afghan owned and Afghan led peace process is the most viable option for lasting peace in Afghanistan.

“Pakistan will continue its serious efforts for facilitating the peace process, including through the Quadrilateral Cooperation Group (QCG) of Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and the US,” he told Ghani.

The chief military spokesman, Lt Gen Asim Bajwa, confirmed that the army chief made a ‘farewell call’ to Abdullah. “Next talk with Dr Ashraf Ghani is planned,” Gen Bajwa, who heads the Inter-Services Public Relations, told The Express Tribune in a text message.

Earlier the Afghan chief executive’s office tweeted: “Pakistan Chief of Army Staff Raheel Sharif made a phone call to [Afghan] chief executive as a farewell discussion last night.”



The meeting in Ashgabat has assumed importance because of the current tense relationship which has also affected bilateral contacts. Afghanistan last month announced it would stay away from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) summit in Islamabad shortly after India boycotted the summit in view of tension along the Line of Control (LoC).

On Friday, Afghanistan protested against Pakistan’s decision to introduce the flag-lowering ceremony on Chaman, the second major border crossing between the two countries.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 27^th, 2016.