Resolving the Pak-Afghan quandary

The effectiveness of future negotiations in the region hinges upon better relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has hosted talks between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Defence Minister Bismillah Mohammadi Khan and Pakistan’s army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani in Brussels, in a bid to ease escalating tensions between the two countries. The talks took place at a time when relations between the neighbours were severely strained on both the political and security fronts, with weeks of tension at the shared border and stalled peace efforts. Secretary Kerry, while terming the talks “productive”, also cautioned that “ … results are what will tell the story, not statements at press conferences”. The US has rightly identified that the  effectiveness of future negotiations in the region hinge upon forging better relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan as Nato prepares to pull out its troops.



Pakistan Foreign Office has stated that “Pakistan is convinced that a peaceful, stable, prosperous and united Afghanistan is in the interest of Afghanistan, Pakistan and the region.” How far this translates into actual policy by way of the talks held in Brussels is up for debate, particularly as Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of harbouring militants. Afghanistan, on the other hand, continues to assert that Pakistan aids militants who have a clear intent of keeping Afghanistan unstable.

These regional tensions necessitate the need for a trilateral solution, which may present an opportunity to quell suspicions on all sides. Washington has been pushing for such discussions since 2009 in order to address Pakistan’s fear of Afghanistan falling into Indian hands. Plans of Indian training of the Afghan Army and Indian intelligence agencies’ close liaison with Afghan counterparts could foster greater suspicion in Pakistan. The symbolic strategic partnership accord signed between India and Afghanistan has alarmed Pakistan’s military establishment. The core issue in the Afghanistan quagmire in the lead up to the Nato pullout is whether Indian and Pakistani leadership show statesmanship and start engagement on Afghanistan. Otherwise, the trilateral Pak-Afghan-US cooperation would be meaningless. The US must play its due role in facilitating  wider regional cooperation and Pakistan must think of a broad-based regional solution to the Afghan quandary.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 26^th, 2013.