Islamabad to assist talks if both Kabul, Taliban willing

FO spokesman’s statement seems to imply Pakistan won’t get involved in peace process unless both sides agree

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan on Thursday said it will facilitate another round of peace talks between Kabul and the Taliban provided that both sides are willing to re-engage with each other, hinting at a shift in its policy towards reconciliation in Afghanistan.

“Pakistan supported and hosted the first round of intra-Afghan dialogue for peace and reconciliation [in early July] and if both sides agree to it, we are ready to offer our cooperation to them for future talks,” Foreign Office (FO) spokesman Qazi Khalilullah said at his weekly news conference.

The statement could be seen as a response to President Ashraf Ghani’s repeated assertion that his government would no longer seek Islamabad’s help in the peace process. It seems to imply that even if Afghanistan’s national unity government changed its mind about talks with the Taliban, the resumption of the peace process will depend on whether the insurgent group is also ready to come back to the negotiating table.

In an interview with The Express Tribune earlier, a senior adviser of the Afghan Taliban said the group too is now averse to Pakistan’s direct involvement in the peace process. He also said the Taliban do not want direct talks with the Kabul administration.

In a veiled reference to Pakistan, the Taliban supreme leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, in his Eid message, opposed other countries’ role in the talks. “Any foreign pressure under the pretext of resolving the Afghan problem, is not going to resolve the problem but will create other problems,” he said.

Read: Efforts underway to resume Afghan peace talks, says Aziz

It is believed that Khalilullah’s remarks could signal a realisation among Pakistani circles that the Taliban are no longer willing to negotiate with Kabul, and that Islamabad should keep a distance from the Afghan peace process.

The new condition could also be Islamabad’s response to a recent barrage of allegations by Afghan military leaders that ‘Pakistani generals’ were involved in the recent clashes in Kunduz. The strategic northern city fell to the Taliban last week after insurgent fighters overwhelmed government forces. Although the Afghan security forces claimed soon after that they had retaken Kunduz, fighting still persists and it is unclear which side is in control of the city.

“Despite anti-Pakistan statements emanating from Kabul, Islamabad believes that cooperation between the two countries is vital for peace and security in Afghanistan which will benefit both the countries and the region as a whole,” the FO spokesman said.

“We have been helping Afghanistan in many ways, in their development process, in their efforts to counter terrorism, and we have remained in touch with the government in Kabul at various levels and have tried our best to restore the level of trust between the two countries,” Khalilullah added.

The spokesman rejected allegations of Pakistan’s involvement in Kunduz fighting and reiterated its condemnation of attempt by any group to occupy areas in Afghanistan.

Read: Afghan Taliban feign ignorance over Sartaj Aziz’s peace talks claim

“There is no truth in allegations that Pakistani agencies or forces are involved in attacks [in Kunduz] or elsewhere in Afghanistan.  We have also said that occupation of Afghan territory by force by any group is condemnable,” he said.

He added that Pakistan is determined not to allow its soil to be used against Afghanistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 9^th, 2015.