In Kabul, unwilling allies for Islamabad

Afghanistan drags feet at recognising Islamabad’s contribution in war on terror

ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan is neither ready to recognise the efforts made by Pakistan in eliminating terrorism nor willing to work closely on the future agenda of countering terrorism thereby leading to sustainable peace and stability, socio-economic development, progress and solidarity of the entire region.

The Afghan mindset as of now can be best judged as Afghanistan did not sign the joint declaration agreed upon on July 6 after the Tripartite meeting attended by Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and then prime minister Nawaz Sharif and later, sources in Foreign office told The Express Tribune on the condition of anonymity.

The reluctance also shown by Afghan CGS Gen Sharif Yaftali to agree on various points in the last three-day of Quadrilateral Counter Terrorism Coordination Mechanism (QCCM) meeting which was attended by army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chinese General Li Zuocheng, Tajik General Sobirzoda Imomali Abdurrahim and Afghan General Sharif Yaftali Afghanistan that concluded on August 29, they added.



Both the meetings were held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

“Though the joint declaration after the tripartite meeting was issued, the fact remains that President Ghani was reluctant to agree to the various points on the issue of counter-terrorism and did not sign the Declaration, the sources said.

According to them, it appears that Afghanistan, despite the fact that it sits with Pakistan on various forums to discuss wide range of issues pertaining to regional and particularly focused on the war-torn country, is under direct influence of the United States and in the shadow influence of India.

The sources also said on the contrary, Islamabad on various forums and on bilateral events, has assured Kabul that Pakistan is for peaceful and stable Afghanistan, and that the war against terrorism is a common agenda.

The Ghani administration has agreed on various times the role of Pakistan and its efforts to eliminate terrorism, however, at the same time it leaves no opportunity in pointing fingers at Islamabad which clearly shows that Kabul is pursuing the agenda of the US and India in the region, the sources maintained.



It is to be mentioned here that in the recently concluded QCCM meeting in Dushanbe, all four leaders welcomed the agreed initiatives and expressed hope that an inclusive and cooperative regional approach will prove the best option in eradication of terrorism.

General Qamar highlighted achievements of Pakistan in fight against terrorism for eliminating terrorist safe havens from its soil. He said terrorism being a transnational threat can only be defeated through intelligence sharing and coordinated effective border management.

The participants also agreed on an outline cooperative mechanism which will come into force after its endorsement by the respective governments. On sidelines of QCCM, Gen Qamar met Afghan CGS Gen Yaftali and discussed candidly the common concerns. Gen Qamar assured full cooperation to the government of Ashraf Ghani, saying Pakistan is open to any suggestion that facilitate peace in Afghanistan.

The tripartite meeting also discussed the ways of further strengthening and development of trilateral and multilateral cooperation, as well as topical regional and international issues. The three leaders emphasized the importance of further enhancement of mutually beneficial relations in all areas that meet the interest of sustained peace and stability, socio-economic development, progress and solidarity of the three countries and the entire region. Later a joint declaration was also issued on the meeting.