- Accommodation required to fulfil mutual expectations
The Afghan government wants an end to the ongoing bloodshed in the country. The Afghan Taliban want a dominant role in the administration after the departure of the foreign troops. Pakistan wants a friendly administration in Kabul that puts an end to terrorist attacks from its territory. The USA wants to ensure that after the withdrawal of troops, Afghanistan does not become a source of terrorist threats.
The latest intra-Afghan peace talks are moving at a snail’s pace. With the Afghan government prioritizing a ceasefire and the Taliban a political arrangement, agreement on an agenda is likely to take time. With Pakistan having a long history of relations with the Afghan Taliban, Islamabad is expected to play a key role in the resolution of the Afghan imbroglio. Pakistan has already helped bring the Taliban back to the negotiating table and later nudging the religious militia to resume the talks on time in the wake of the two-week-long break. Pakistan is now being required to reconcile the conflicting priorities of the Afghan government and the Taliban. As a signal to the Afghan Taliban both Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Prime Minister Imran Khan have made it known that they support “an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive” political solution of the 19-year-old conflict rather than a return to the era of Mullah Omar. The Taliban must realize that no country in the world would support a government that denies human rights and harbours terrorist networks.
Pakistan too has its own priorities. While ensuring peace and stability in the neighbouring country, Islamabad also wants to reduce India’s influence in Afghanistan as New Delhi continues to use its proxies to launch terrorist attacks inside Pakistan. The task is not easy as over the years India has considerably expanded its economic presence in Afghanistan, while it has traditionally suited Afghan governments to play one big neigbour against the other. Pakistan has taken up the issue not only with the Afghan government but also with major Afghan figures invited by it from time to time, Abbas Khalili being the latest. It rightfully expects the Afghan political parties to ensure that their territory is not used as a launching pad against Pakistan, or for that matter against any other country. Accommodating one another is the only way to ensure peace, stability and prosperity for Afghanistan.
