A thaw in Pak-Afghan ties?

Relations will only change once Pakistan treats Afghanistan as an equal power.

Rare is the occasion where the Pakistan and Afghanistan governments both feel that their interests are coinciding. After a period, following the assassination of Afghan peace envoy Burhanuddin Rabbani in September, the historically-poor relations between the two countries reached an all-time low after Kabul blamed Pakistan for the murder. But now it seems like there is an opportunity for a short-term détente, and for this it seems as though the US is to be thanked. In preparation for the start of its withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan later this year, the US has begun holding negotiations with the Taliban in Qatar but has declined to give Pakistan and Afghanistan a significant role in the talks. This has forced the two countries closer and Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar will be travelling to Kabul where, among other things, the two sides will decide to conduct their own peace talks with the Taliban.

This small breakthrough, however, does not change the fact that the Pak-Afghan relationship is hampered by much mistrust. For genuinely good relations to be achieved between the two countries, the first thing Pakistan must do is to set aside its obsession with India. So troubled have we been by the idea that India will be getting a foothold in Afghanistan through its embassies and investments, that we have forgotten that we could have had similar influence had we built as many roads and factories in the war-torn country. Relations will only change once Pakistan treats it as an equal power that does not exist solely to fulfil our regional ambitions. And it should use Afghanistan’s current rift with the US to do just that. If we don’t play our cards right we could end up isolated in the region. Improving relations with Karzai may be our best bet right now since, once the US withdraws, it is sure to lose interest in the region. This, of course, means rethinking much of our Afghan policy and in particular the flawed concept of ‘strategic depth’.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 31^st, 2012.