People-to-people contact critical for Pak-Afghan rapprochement
Track 1.5/2 dialogue held between Afghanistan and Pakistan
PHOTO: REUTERS
ISLAMABAD:
With deep mistrust between Kabul and Islamabad over the Afghan peace process, people-to-people contact is critical for rapprochement between the two nations.
This was suggested by speakers at the sixth meeting of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Committee Member (PAJC) - under the Centre for Research and Security Studies’ (CRSS) Pakistan-Afghanistan Track 1.5/II initiate - Beyond Boundaries dialogue on Thursday. The meeting was attended by the influential on both sides, including senior parliamentarians, former ambassadors, ex-military officials and experts on the subject matter.
The meeting discussed the dynamics of intra-Afghan dialogue, fears regarding the future of Afghanistan in the wake of possible new set-up post-intra-Afghan talks, regional interests attached to the Afghan peace process, the future of Afghanistan’s economic viability, Pakistan-Afghanistan bilateral relations, people-to-people contacts, along with other important factors that come into the equation.
Pakistan-Afghanistan expert and a senior journalist for the Associated Press, Kathy Gannon, said that Islamabad has been extending an olive branch to Kabul for a long time now but the Afghans look at it with sheer suspicion.
Afghan government to release Taliban prisoners as UN backs push to end war
Moderating the session, she said that Afghanistan often asks Pakistan to first get involved in the peace process, but the moment Pakistan jumps in, the Afghan government gets upset with it. This contradictory approach needs to be decoded while Pakistan’s apprehensions of its interest being threatened from the Afghan soil also need to be addressed.
“Amid all this, people-to-people contact is of sheer importance and forums like this help in clearing such notions,” she said.
With the signing of US-Taliban peace deal and recent election fiasco in Afghanistan – where rival presidents were sworn in at the same time - there are fears over the sustainability of the peace deal and concerns over its long-term consequences.
In this regard, delegates from both sides were of the view that without the internal impetus to change the existing state of affairs within Afghanistan, things cannot go forward.
Cautioning that external pressures can only go so far – the signing of the peace deal and offering a window of opportunity in facilitating upcoming intra-Afghan dialogue presents a test to the Afghan leadership to rise above their personal power struggles for the betterment of the Afghan nation.
Regarding Pakistan’s role vis-à-vis peace process, it was discussed and emphasized that it is a key stakeholder in the Afghan peace process. Speakers suggested Islamabad should be viewed as a connector rather than a destabilizer for the process.
Further, delegates from both sides agreed that Islamabad should continue its role of facilitator regarding the Afghan peace process until the very end, by utilizing whatever influence it has over elements within the Afghan Taliban, without becoming a party to it.
Experts warn of spoilers over Afghan peace deal
The Afghan side, though, was of the view that Pakistan should prioritise peace in Afghanistan over its strategic preference of having a friendly government in the country if a neutral one is a prerequisite for progress.
The Pakistani delegates reminded that the Taliban were never Islamabad’s friends and the notion that the Taliban would be pro-Pakistan if they manage to be part of the Afghan government has been blown out of proportion.
Except for diplomatic niceties, Pakistan got no advantage from the Taliban regime in the past and that the world needs to understand that Islamabad does not possess a joy-stick to set the direction of the Taliban’s trajectory. The certain amount of goodwill which Islamabad has with the Taliban is already being used to facilitate the peace process, the Pakistani delegates added.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 13th, 2020.
With deep mistrust between Kabul and Islamabad over the Afghan peace process, people-to-people contact is critical for rapprochement between the two nations.
This was suggested by speakers at the sixth meeting of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Committee Member (PAJC) - under the Centre for Research and Security Studies’ (CRSS) Pakistan-Afghanistan Track 1.5/II initiate - Beyond Boundaries dialogue on Thursday. The meeting was attended by the influential on both sides, including senior parliamentarians, former ambassadors, ex-military officials and experts on the subject matter.
The meeting discussed the dynamics of intra-Afghan dialogue, fears regarding the future of Afghanistan in the wake of possible new set-up post-intra-Afghan talks, regional interests attached to the Afghan peace process, the future of Afghanistan’s economic viability, Pakistan-Afghanistan bilateral relations, people-to-people contacts, along with other important factors that come into the equation.
Pakistan-Afghanistan expert and a senior journalist for the Associated Press, Kathy Gannon, said that Islamabad has been extending an olive branch to Kabul for a long time now but the Afghans look at it with sheer suspicion.
Afghan government to release Taliban prisoners as UN backs push to end war
Moderating the session, she said that Afghanistan often asks Pakistan to first get involved in the peace process, but the moment Pakistan jumps in, the Afghan government gets upset with it. This contradictory approach needs to be decoded while Pakistan’s apprehensions of its interest being threatened from the Afghan soil also need to be addressed.
“Amid all this, people-to-people contact is of sheer importance and forums like this help in clearing such notions,” she said.
With the signing of US-Taliban peace deal and recent election fiasco in Afghanistan – where rival presidents were sworn in at the same time - there are fears over the sustainability of the peace deal and concerns over its long-term consequences.
In this regard, delegates from both sides were of the view that without the internal impetus to change the existing state of affairs within Afghanistan, things cannot go forward.
Cautioning that external pressures can only go so far – the signing of the peace deal and offering a window of opportunity in facilitating upcoming intra-Afghan dialogue presents a test to the Afghan leadership to rise above their personal power struggles for the betterment of the Afghan nation.
Regarding Pakistan’s role vis-à-vis peace process, it was discussed and emphasized that it is a key stakeholder in the Afghan peace process. Speakers suggested Islamabad should be viewed as a connector rather than a destabilizer for the process.
Further, delegates from both sides agreed that Islamabad should continue its role of facilitator regarding the Afghan peace process until the very end, by utilizing whatever influence it has over elements within the Afghan Taliban, without becoming a party to it.
Experts warn of spoilers over Afghan peace deal
The Afghan side, though, was of the view that Pakistan should prioritise peace in Afghanistan over its strategic preference of having a friendly government in the country if a neutral one is a prerequisite for progress.
The Pakistani delegates reminded that the Taliban were never Islamabad’s friends and the notion that the Taliban would be pro-Pakistan if they manage to be part of the Afghan government has been blown out of proportion.
Except for diplomatic niceties, Pakistan got no advantage from the Taliban regime in the past and that the world needs to understand that Islamabad does not possess a joy-stick to set the direction of the Taliban’s trajectory. The certain amount of goodwill which Islamabad has with the Taliban is already being used to facilitate the peace process, the Pakistani delegates added.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 13th, 2020.