Good neighbours

The Foreign Office spokesperson has, in his latest weekly briefing, said efforts are being made to improve relations with Kabul through certain channels. He has not thought it fit to clarify what these channels may be or quite how things are proceeding. It should be noted, of course, that tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan have been rising sharply, causing considerable alarm in many quarters. Washington, too, has been watching the situation closely.



We must hope that the spokesperson is correct when he says that efforts are being made to fix matters. But, of course, without details we cannot be totally sure that this is accurate. The last few exchanges between the leaders of the two countries have been rather acrimonious and hardly friendly in terms of the accusations made. Kabul clearly feels that Islamabad is interfering in its affairs and has an agenda of some kind for the future. Certainly, talks are needed to help sort matters out.

The key point is that unless Afghanistan and Pakistan can cooperate, we will never see an end to militancy. This would, of course, be a disaster for the region. We must hope that those in power possess the vision to be able to see this and recognise that they have to rise above petty politics and the more dangerous power games many suspect are being played. Conjecture goes that there are elements in Pakistan which wish to gain a hold over Kabul after 2014 when US troops withdraw. We must ask why anybody would think this way given that we have enough problems of our own without trying to take on those of other nations as well. It is absolutely essential that all countries in the region work together for peace and stability within it. This also includes India, which is undoubtedly playing a part in events in Afghanistan, and as a result, creating unease at home. Kabul and Islamabad need to engage in talks to work out the problems. Unless this happens, tensions will only continue to rise, making things much harder for both countries in the future given their desperate need to establish peace and end conflict.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 22^nd, 2013.