With the Afghan endgame emerging, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has been in a diplomatic dash to the countries in the neighbouhood and beyond, aimed at evolving a consensus on the longstanding issue. Qureshi has completed his visits to the UAE, Iran and Turkey, and by the time this appears in print, he will have travelled to Qatar – a GCC member state which had hosted the peace talks between the US and the Taliban that culminated in Doha peace deal on February 29, 2020, followed by talks involving the various Afghan stakeholders, including the Taliban and the Ashraf Ghani administration.
The multi-state visit comes as the Biden administration reviews its position in the region including a rebalancing towards Tehran and a pullout from Afghanistan. In the UAE, a major regional player, Qureshi held talks with Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and discussed “efforts for peace and stability in South Asia”, besides other bilateral issues. And with the Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Qureshi discussed “regional security situation with particular focus on latest developments in the Afghan peace process” apart from other issues of mutual interest.
And as Qureshi joined his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu on reaching Istanbul, Afghan Foreign Minister Hanif Atmar also joined them for talks via video link from Afghanistan. A joint statement issued after the trilateral talks “deplored the continuing high level of violence in Afghanistan” and “called on all parties, in particular the Taliban, to reaffirm their commitment for achieving an inclusive negotiated settlement leading to lasting peace in Afghanistan desired by the Afghan people, the region and the international community”.
Concerned about a possible repeat of the post-Soviet withdrawal-like situation in Afghanistan, the countries in the region are making efforts for having an intra-Afghan agreement in place before the US troop withdrawal slated for September 11 this year. All Afghan stakeholders must realise their responsibility towards the poor Afghan citizens, who have been yearning for peace for more than four decades, and make the most of this rare opportunity for peace in the country.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 25th, 2021.
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