Islamabad to push for a restart of peace talks

Sartaj to meet Afghan leadership on sidelines of Kabul conference

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan will persuade Afghanistan to resume peace talks with the Taliban instead of getting bogged down in a blame game at the high-level talks between the two neighbors expected this week in Kabul.

Prime Minister’s Adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz is scheduled to travel to the Afghan capital on Friday to attend the Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan (RECCA). At the sidelines of the regional conference, he is expected to meet Afghanistan’s leadership to discuss the recent hiccup in ties between the two neighbours.



Aziz confirmed to The Express Tribune that he was travelling to Kabul and will meet Afghan authorities at the sidelines of the conference.

The visit is seen as crucial in the wake of ongoing friction between the two countries following the spate of terrorist attacks which Kabul had claimed were carried out by the Haqqani network from Pakistan. The Afghan diatribe against Pakistan was considered unprecedented since relations had shown significant improvement ever since the unity government was formed in Afghanistan.

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Pakistan’s military establishment was so upset over Kabul's allegations that Army Chief General Raheel Sharif refused to meet a high-powered Afghan delegation which visited the country last month to demand tough action against the Haqqani network.

A senior military official, however, said relations between the two countries would be back on track soon and termed the current impasse as just a ‘pause.’ He dismissed allegations that the Haqqani Network was still operating from Pakistan, saying the ongoing operation was targeting militants without any discrimination.

Earlier this week, the premier’s adviser also declared that the Haqqani network had been successfully disrupted. “The infrastructure of the Haqqani network in North Waziristan including IED factories and a number of capacities including communication have been disrupted,” Aziz said.

“Our assessment is that their (Haqqani’s) capacity in Afghanistan is much, much bigger… probably 80-90 per cent compared to what is here and what is here is also being cleaned out as part of our operations,” he added.

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A senior official while requesting anonymity said Aziz will convey Pakistan’s willingness to work jointly with Afghanistan to fight terrorism. However, the official disclosed that Islamabad believes that process of reconciliation, which was suspended following the announcement of death of Mullah Omar, must be pursued.

The official said the Obama administration was also pushing Afghan leadership to restart the process of negotiations with Afghan Taliban.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 3^rd,  2015.