Nail-biting deal

After a series of crests and troughs, a deal has come through at Istanbul. Primarily, it is a face-saving situation for both Afghanistan and Pakistan as they had put up an ardent show of resilience, sticking to their respective positions, in an endeavour to make the other side blink. The good news is that an accord is now underwriting, and the Turkish and Qatari authorities have heaved a sigh of relief as their mediation has come full circle.

If reports are to be believed, both Islamabad and Kabul have agreed to disagree while giving their nod to an extension in the ceasefire between them, and an earnest understanding to set up a monitoring and verification procedure. The fact that enough guarantees have been introduced in the form of penalties on the violating party is a good omen, and promises to serve as a structured approach for upholding peace and security in the volatile region.

The most appreciated aspect at Istanbul was the commonality of views between the warring parties, as well as the honest brokers, to ensure no going over the brink. Kabul was, however, at times averse to congeniality and made every effort to hoodwink the ground realities in its restive homeland. That is why the next round of talks in the coming week is more likely to see modalities ironed out, in a formal manner, to make further headway.

The week-long parleys, despite serious differences between the two sides, have yielded a realisation that exterminating the terror nexus is indispensable, and this is where Pakistan's stance stands vindicated. The onus, thus, is on Taliban 2.0 to cope with the ostrich syndrome of refusing to acknowledge the looming threat under their nose, and act against unscrupulous elements that are now an existential threat.

Pakistan has made no qualms in making it clear that any violation of its sovereignty will not be tolerated, and an era of endurance is over. Islamabad must convince Kabul to see from the prism of geo-economics, and stop playing to the gallery to appease its new-found nexus with Delhi. Pakistan and Afghanistan must pride themselves on their neighbourhood and a compassionate past, and usher in all instruments of compatibility for a shared future.