Afghan President Ashraf Ghani embraces Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after a news conference in Kabul. PHOTO: REUTERS
Pakistan’s once-troubled relationship with Afghanistan is on the mend. In the latest sign of increasing bonhomie between the two hyphenated neighbours, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif promised coordinated military operations with Afghan forces to hunt down militants along the long and porous border between the two countries. He also condemned the uptick in violence since the launch of the ‘spring offensive’ by the Afghan Taliban, saying that “Pakistan considers such attacks as acts of terrorism”.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has made improving relations with Pakistan a priority since taking office last year, though his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, had routinely accused Islamabad of tacitly supporting the Afghan Taliban, whose leaders, he claimed, were hiding in Pakistan.
The realisation that the two countries are faced with a common enemy, the Taliban, has led to a desire for increased security cooperation between the two countries. The Afghan Taliban are fighting to topple the government in Kabul, while their namesakes in Pakistan have been waging a bloody campaign against the state.
“Any effort by any militant or group to destablise Afghanistan will be dealt with severely and such elements will be outlawed and hunted down,” Premier Nawaz said at a joint appearance with President Ghani after their talks at the presidential palace in Kabul.
“Coordinated operations will be planned and conducted on a mutually agreed basis to target militant hideouts along the border,” he added. All sanctuaries, when found, will be eliminated by direct action, and will be monitored by the existing mechanism.”
“I assure you, Mr President, that the enemies of Afghanistan cannot be friends of Pakistan,” he added. He denounced the Afghan Taliban’s spring offensive, codenamed ‘Operation Azm’, and said, “Continuation of such offensive and attacks will be construed as terrorist acts and we condemn such attacks in the strongest terms.”
On the daylong trip to Kabul, the prime minister was accompanied by his aides Ishaq Dar, Sartaj Aziz, Tariq Fatemi, army chief Raheel Sharif, DG ISI Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar and Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry and senior officials.
President Ghani’s move to mend ties with Pakistan is partially aimed at convincing Islamabad to use whatever influence it has among Taliban leaders to persuade them to join peace talks.
Premier Nawaz said that Islamabad and Kabul recognised that an enduring peace in Afghanistan would be a distant dream, without an inclusive intra-Afghan reconciliation. “I reaffirmed Pakistan’s full support for an Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace and reconciliation process and assured the president of making all possible efforts in this regard.”
Peace and stability in the region would remain elusive, he said, until the menace of terrorism afflicting the region is comprehensively addressed. “I am confident that we will succeed in rooting out this menace through our firm determination and by adopting a comprehensive and coordinated strategy.”
The two sides agreed that Pak-Afghan relationship would continue to be guided by three principles: 1.) We will strictly adhere to the policy of non-interference; 2.) We will not allow our respective territories to be used against the other; and 3.) Afghanistan’s enemies will be treated as Pakistan’s enemies and Pakistan’s enemies will be treated as Afghanistan’s enemies. President Ghani agreed with Premier Nawaz Sharif that the enemy of Afghanistan was the enemy of Pakistan and the enemy of Pakistan was the enemy of Afghanistan. “The war is being imposed on both Afghanistan and Pakistan and we need to work together to bring peace,” he told the news conference.
“Terrorism is terrorism and it is the enemy of Pakistan and Afghanistan and their people,” President Ghani said at the news conference. “If a child is killed in Peshawar or in Afghanistan both are same,” he said. He admitted that Pakistan was most affected by terrorism than Afghanistan. “We want such an environment where a child in Pakistan and Afghanistan go out and return home safe,” he added.
He said Afghan security forces are fighting for the stability of whole region. “People in both countries want peace and stability as it is the only solution to our problems,” the Afghan leader said as he called for joint efforts against terrorism. “I’m hopeful that the future of Pakistan and Afghanistan is bright,” he added.
Premier Nawaz also met Afghan Chief Executive Dr Abdullah Abdullah who told the Pakistani leader that Kabul was ready to cooperate with Islamabad against the dangers of terrorism. “Terrorism poses serious threats to both Pakistan and Afghanistan, the region and the world,” Dr Abdullah was quoted as saying in a statement issued by his office.
The Afghan leader also requested the prime minister to extend the stay of Afghan refugees in Pakistan until Kabul makes arrangements for their repatriation. Afghan refugees have time until December 31 to return to their country. Premier Nawaz assured Dr Abdullah that his government would come up with a positive approach about the issue.
On the issue of the Afghan Taliban, the prime minister said that “the Taliban and other terrorist groups also understand what we have told them. They do not have any other option but to join the peace process.”
Dr Abdullah also reminded Premier Nawaz of Pakistan’s commitment to build a dam on the Kunar River. Nawaz said the dam was in the interest of both Pakistan and Afghanistan and that Islamabad would honour its commitment.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 13th, 2015.
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