简体中文
After years of mistrust and tension-filled relations, there are now indications that Afghanistan's new President Ashraf Ghani and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif are ready to "bury the hatchet," open a new chapter in bilateral ties between the two neighboring countries, and boost cooperation in the quest for peace and security in the region.
In a meeting with Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan's top security adviser in Kabul Sunday, President Ghani emphasized that the two countries should discard the practice of blaming each other every time there is an attack by the Taliban on both sides of their border.
"We must avoid accusing each other and must create an atmosphere of trust between us. Today, a new window has been opened in relations between the two countries. We hope that the new window will turn into a door and finally into a corridor of cooperation," President Ghani told the Pakistani adviser using a metaphor. Ghani's statement was posted online.
Aziz, who delivered Sharif's formal invitation for President Ghani to visit Pakistan, said he is optimistic that a meeting between the two leaders would result in the reconciliation between Kabul and Islamabad whose relationship has been marred by mistrust.
"My visit and meetings were useful and successful beyond my expectations," Aziz told Xinhua in a brief comment on his return to Islamabad. He said his visit provided an opportunity to explore options and to put in place a permanent mechanism to "address each other's complaints and remove the mistrust."
He said the proposed mechanism will be decided during the visit of President Ghani to Islamabad that would "take place very soon."
Pakistani and Afghan leaders are giving positive signals about the future relations of the two countries where tension over border and security issues had impacted negatively on their desire to cooperate in the fight against terrorism and violence perpetrated by the Taliban and other insurgent groups.
The leaders of both countries realize that without enhanced cooperation they cannot hope to finally end the terrorist activities of the Taliban that have become a scourge in both countries, ruining their economies and subjecting their citizens to untold suffering.
It is widely believed that Afghanistan could face serious security challenges after the end of U.S.-NATO combat mission this year, after which the Afghan forces will take the burden of ensuring the country's security. The Taliban have shown no sign to stop fighting and Kabul would need Islamabad's cooperation in the difficult reconciliation process.
Afghan leaders have insisted that Pakistan still has a deep influence on the Afghan Taliban and the country's role would be important to achieve the goal. In his farewell address last month, former President Hamid Karzai said that the keys to the reconciliation process with the Taliban are Pakistan and the United States.
In his meeting with the Pakistani security adviser, President Ghani pointed out that "statements alone would not suffice because the time has come to take action, to take practical steps for peace and reconciliation."
As instability in Afghanistan directly affects Pakistan, analysts here said that it is to the best interest of Pakistan to play a vital role in trying to encourage the Taliban to join the intra-Afghan dialogue, which has the support of the whole world. Political watchers are unanimous that no foreign-imposed solution could work.
One analyst said that the Afghan Taliban should review its stubborn approach of ignoring Kabul's initiative for a peace dialogue, adding that they should not set a pre-condition for joining the peace process since it will redound to Afghanistan's own stability and the prosperity of its people.
The analyst said that to encourage the Taliban to come to the negotiating table, the Afghan government will have to undertake some confidence-building measures that could include the reopening of the Taliban political office in Qatar. The Taliban office, which was the only channel to contact the militants, was closed just days after its opening in Doha in June last year over objections by then President Karzai.
The release of the Taliban leaders and efforts to remove names of the Taliban leaders from the United Nations sanction lists could also be important confidence- building measure.
But some observers said that for the Taliban to agree to the peace dialogue would be an uphill battle particularly now that Kabul has signed a bilateral security arrangement with Washington. But this is precisely where Pakistan should come in, one observer said.
