The realisation in Washington that Islamabad is an indispensable partner in Afghan affairs is encouraging. It is, moreover, a whiff of fresh air as both the countries foment a new way out in their bilateralism by setting aside the prism of security conundrum through which they acted and interacted over Afghanistan. The utterance from a senior US official that the United States has no choice but to work with Pakistan on the way ahead in Afghanistan simply underscores realism at work under the Biden administration. This policy approach will go a long way in buoying a multilateral mechanism wherein the exigencies faced by the war-torn country can be addressed in a more cohesive manner. The difference of opinion that they nursed on the premise of specifics are in need of being shunned, and this is exactly what the US Special Representative for Afghanistan, Tom West, meant as he appreciated the role of Pakistan in bailing out the Americans in the wake of the fall of Kabul.
The discussion at the US Institute of Peace in Washington had brought to the fore many aspects of interaction. It was good to learn that the US formally acknowledges Pakistan’s role in arranging a peace deal with the Taliban. This is where the discord had thrived for years, as Pakistan had advocated a tête-à-tête with the militia as they held the key to a comprehensive settlement in Afghanistan. Decades of war-mongering and the US obsession to exterminate Taliban had only cost it trillions of dollars and a face-off in Southwest Asia. Tom’s narrative that the US and Pakistan often agreed to disagree, and had their own respective ways, is a sign of maturity in their given diverse engagement.
It is heartening that President Biden believes in working for a stable Afghanistan. The partial release of frozen Afghan assets is, in a way, a welcome step. What is needed is a robust trilateral cooperation to not only beef up confidence but also ensure reconstruction and humanitarian assistance. The bottom line is that the Doha deal would not have been possible had Washington not listened to Islamabad, and brushed shoulders with the Taliban. The United States bloodless exit from Afghanistan is, indeed, a tribute to diplomacy and Pakistan truly deserves a pat.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 19th, 2022.
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