Afghan President Ashraf Ghani traveled to Pakistan on November 14 to talk about the peace that Afghanistan urgently needs. He understands that the ultimate fate and success of his presidency rests on restoring basic peace and security to Afghanistan, and that the key to those issues certainly lies somewhere with Pakistani officials. His first state visit to Pakistan has generated a high level of optimism on both sides of the border.
Relations have long been strained over the presence of Taliban militants on both sides of the border. Afghan officials have accused the Pakistani military of aiding and directing the Taliban insurgency against the Afghan government and Western troops. And increasingly, Pakistani officials have accused Afghanistan of taking revenge by sheltering a growing number of Pakistani Taliban militants.
Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai routinely accused Pakistan of providing support to the Taliban. Early last year, Pakistani, Afghan and British leaders laid out a timeline for seeking a peace deal with the Taliban, but those efforts foundered as Kabul and Islamabad traded accusations over cross-border shelling and other tensions.
There is hardly a single day in Pakistan or Afghanistan without violence and terrorist attacks. As an example, on November 3 a terrorist attack later claimed by the Tahrik Taliban Pakistan (TTP) killed 60, including 10 women and seven children, while injuring 110. One day after Ghani’s return from Islamabad, a powerful suicide attack occurred close to Afghanistan’s parliament, killing three and injuring 32 people, including a prominent female member of parliament, Shukria Barakzai. Earlier on November 10, at least 10 policemen were killed in Afghanistan in two separate episodes.
Analysts hope that Ghani’s visit to Islamabad will lead to enhanced security cooperation between the two countries and better management of their long and porous border to prevent militants from seeking sanctuaries and fueling militancy in both countries. Moreover, most experts believe that if the two feuding neighbors were to bury the hatchet, the chances of increased stability in the region would increase dramatically.
The Afghan president, who was accompanied by a high level delegation of nearly 100 people, aimed to seek Pakistan’s help in talks with the Taliban to avoid any instability in the post-NATO Afghanistan.
The meeting was held in a very cordial atmosphere and the two presidents discussed multiple issues ranging from the common challenges to further strengthening economic, trade and people to people contacts for the mutual benefit of the people of the two countries.
Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to providing assistance in training and capacity building of the Afghan security forces, adding that peace and stability in Afghanistan were in Pakistan’s interest.
Ghani said that his government and the people of Afghanistan desire to further strengthen bilateral relations with Pakistan in all areas of mutual interest. He further added that Afghanistan wants to strengthen security and defense ties with Pakistan, including cooperation in training and border management. He also assured Afghanistan’s cooperation to jointly curb the menace of terrorism.
The United States believes that despite deep-rooted challenges, Pakistan and Afghanistan under Ghani seem determined to seek a fresh start in their bilateral relations. U.S. Special Representative for both the countries, Dan Feldman, said.
“This is the most alignment that I have seen in terms of the opportunity to start this new chapter in the relationship and I think there are so many areas of potential progress here on cross-border military issues, on counterterrorism issues,” said Feldman. “There are many things that could be a great dividend for the people of Pakistan and the people of Afghanistan if the two countries can work together better, and we see every indication that that’s possible given the commitment and desire both by the Pakistani leadership and by the Afghan leadership.”
Afghan officials and observers say the inauguration of Mr. Ghani offers a chance for the two countries to repair relations. Simbal Khan, a security analyst based in Islamabad, said political and security issues between the two countries would take time to tackle, but progress could be made rapidly on improving trade and other economic linkages.
Since Mr. Ghani’s inauguration in late September, several top Pakistani officials have paid visits to Kabul. Last month, Sartaj Aziz, the national security and foreign affairs adviser to Mr. Sharif, met with the Afghan president. Moreover, Gen. Raheel Sharif, Pakistan’s powerful chief of army staff, traveled to the Afghan capital, where he met with Mr. Ghani and his top security advisers.
Although, Ashraf Ghani’s predecessor Hamid Karzai travelled to Pakistan 20 times within 13 years of his presidency, none gave the desired fruit. He pushed aggressively to draw Taliban militants to the table of negotiation via Pakistani officials, but met failure. To seek peace, Karzai knocked at every door persistently, he traveled to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Dubai and urged the Taliban officials to conduct a jirga in Afghanistan but all the doors remained closed to him. One the other hand, a number of Taliban’s top officials led by Mullah Agha Jan Mutasim, who announced preparation for peace negotiation in Dubai were threatened or killed, including Mulavi Abdul Raqib – whose body was transferred by Afghan military helicopter to Takhar province.
Unlike Karzai’s presidential period, the analysts express optimistically regarding Ghani’s trip to Pakistan. As a result, Afghan and international officials said the meetings went well, and appeared to usher in more productive relations between the two neighbors. Hope Pakistan joins force with Afghanistan to counter terrorism and the Pakistani officials stand committed and determined in this regard.