Neighbourhood watch: Afghan media apprehensive of Pakistan, TTP peace deal
Claim the militants will turn their guns towards their country in such a case.
Media persons and analysts claim the TTP will turn their guns on Afghanistan if a peace deal prevails between the TTP and the new Pakistani government. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
The president’s office said Karzai called for cooperation between the two countries “in fighting terrorism and extremism as they pose serious threats to peace and stability.”
A day later, Afghanistan’s top diplomat in Islamabad, Omer Daudzai, reiterated Karzai’s position that cooperation is essential for establishing peace in Afghanistan and the region. Other Afghan leaders, who had recently been critical of Islamabad over the alleged construction of military posts on the Afghan side of the border, are hopeful as the new elected government in Pakistan gets ready to take over.
Afghan media and analysts, however, remain skeptical and claim violence in their country will escalate if the new Pakistani government reconciles with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). They hold the banned militant outfit responsible for most of the terrorist attacks in the country.
Sarnawesht, a privately owned newspaper, claimed in an article: “Nawaz Sharif promised cooperation with President Hamid Karzai, but time will prove that just like the previous governments, the new civilian government will not have any effective role in Pakistan’s policies towards Afghanistan.”
The paper further alleged in an editorial on May 13 that Pakistan’s civilian government plays no major role in formulating the country’s Afghan policies and “is to a great extent, unauthorised.”
Media persons and analysts claim the TTP will turn their guns on Afghanistan if a peace deal prevails between the TTP and the new Pakistani government at a time when international forces are preparing to withdraw from the war-torn country.
The Afghan media is also wary of Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) as it seeks to form the provincial government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P). Imran’s approach towards the Taliban concerns them, they say.
As Pakistan voted, Afghan TV channels endlessly debated the election outcome and the possible impact on Afghanistan if Sharif comes to power. A majority of the Afghan analysts do not expect any major changes in Pakistan’s Afghan policy because “the real power would still rest with the Pakistan army and its security agencies, as has historically been the case.”
Wahid Mozhda, a political analyst and former Afghan foreign ministry official, claimed Afghanistan will suffer if the TTP declares peace with the new Pakistani government.
“If we see peace with the Taliban in Pakistan, the Taliban will indeed need another battlefield. Therefore, a decline in the level of violence in Pakistan would mean an intensification of war in Afghanistan and support for Taliban in Afghanistan will also increase,” Mozhda told The Express Tribune.
Afghan daily Hasht-e Sobh welcomed the continuation of the democratic process and the peaceful transfer of power in Pakistan. “Nawaz Sharif is a veteran politician and he must have realized the policy of supporting extremism is the main cause of the current insecurity in Pakistan. Nawaz Sharif must try to tell the powerful military and intelligence services the continuation of the current policy does not benefit Pakistan and democracy in that country,” the paper said in an article on May 13.
Arman-e-Mili, a daily close to the Journalists Association of Afghanistan, was highly critical of Sharif’s victory on May 11. Kabul-based daily Cheragh expressed similar concerns in an editorial this week. “Nawaz Sharif’s foreign policy stance is regarded as a serious alarm bell for Nato, the US and Afghanistan. It is necessary for our country’s politicians to look at the changes in Pakistan expertly and professionally,” read the editorial.
Some Afghans are optimistic about Sharif’s victory and see him as an experienced hand in foreign policy. “It is time for Nawaz Sharif to re-shape Pakistan’s foreign policy. Pakistan needs to take bold and determined steps to convince the Americans for peace in the region,” said Movement for Peaceful Transformation of Afghanistan Chairman Farouq Azam.
During Sharif’s first tenure as prime minister, he helped broker the ‘Islamabad Accord’ on March 7, 1993. The accord was a peace and power-sharing agreement between major Afghan warring parties, aimed at ending the civil war in the country.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 18th, 2013.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai was among the many world leaders who congratulated Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif hours after his party emerged as the largest political force in the general elections.
The president’s office said Karzai called for cooperation between the two countries “in fighting terrorism and extremism as they pose serious threats to peace and stability.”
A day later, Afghanistan’s top diplomat in Islamabad, Omer Daudzai, reiterated Karzai’s position that cooperation is essential for establishing peace in Afghanistan and the region. Other Afghan leaders, who had recently been critical of Islamabad over the alleged construction of military posts on the Afghan side of the border, are hopeful as the new elected government in Pakistan gets ready to take over.
Afghan media and analysts, however, remain skeptical and claim violence in their country will escalate if the new Pakistani government reconciles with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). They hold the banned militant outfit responsible for most of the terrorist attacks in the country.
Sarnawesht, a privately owned newspaper, claimed in an article: “Nawaz Sharif promised cooperation with President Hamid Karzai, but time will prove that just like the previous governments, the new civilian government will not have any effective role in Pakistan’s policies towards Afghanistan.”
The paper further alleged in an editorial on May 13 that Pakistan’s civilian government plays no major role in formulating the country’s Afghan policies and “is to a great extent, unauthorised.”
Media persons and analysts claim the TTP will turn their guns on Afghanistan if a peace deal prevails between the TTP and the new Pakistani government at a time when international forces are preparing to withdraw from the war-torn country.
The Afghan media is also wary of Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) as it seeks to form the provincial government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P). Imran’s approach towards the Taliban concerns them, they say.
As Pakistan voted, Afghan TV channels endlessly debated the election outcome and the possible impact on Afghanistan if Sharif comes to power. A majority of the Afghan analysts do not expect any major changes in Pakistan’s Afghan policy because “the real power would still rest with the Pakistan army and its security agencies, as has historically been the case.”
Wahid Mozhda, a political analyst and former Afghan foreign ministry official, claimed Afghanistan will suffer if the TTP declares peace with the new Pakistani government.
“If we see peace with the Taliban in Pakistan, the Taliban will indeed need another battlefield. Therefore, a decline in the level of violence in Pakistan would mean an intensification of war in Afghanistan and support for Taliban in Afghanistan will also increase,” Mozhda told The Express Tribune.
Afghan daily Hasht-e Sobh welcomed the continuation of the democratic process and the peaceful transfer of power in Pakistan. “Nawaz Sharif is a veteran politician and he must have realized the policy of supporting extremism is the main cause of the current insecurity in Pakistan. Nawaz Sharif must try to tell the powerful military and intelligence services the continuation of the current policy does not benefit Pakistan and democracy in that country,” the paper said in an article on May 13.
Arman-e-Mili, a daily close to the Journalists Association of Afghanistan, was highly critical of Sharif’s victory on May 11. Kabul-based daily Cheragh expressed similar concerns in an editorial this week. “Nawaz Sharif’s foreign policy stance is regarded as a serious alarm bell for Nato, the US and Afghanistan. It is necessary for our country’s politicians to look at the changes in Pakistan expertly and professionally,” read the editorial.
Some Afghans are optimistic about Sharif’s victory and see him as an experienced hand in foreign policy. “It is time for Nawaz Sharif to re-shape Pakistan’s foreign policy. Pakistan needs to take bold and determined steps to convince the Americans for peace in the region,” said Movement for Peaceful Transformation of Afghanistan Chairman Farouq Azam.
During Sharif’s first tenure as prime minister, he helped broker the ‘Islamabad Accord’ on March 7, 1993. The accord was a peace and power-sharing agreement between major Afghan warring parties, aimed at ending the civil war in the country.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 18th, 2013.