London conference underscores Pakistan's role in Afghan peace process

The recently-concluded London conference has once again highlighted Pakistan's role in the Afghan peace process as concerns are growing about the emerging security challenges that Afghanistan would face with the withdrawal of most of the foreign forces by yearend.

During the conference held on Dec. 4 in London and attended by representatives of nearly 60 countries, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif reiterated Pakistan's support to Afghanistan's quest for peace with the Taliban.

"I shared with President (Mohammad Ashraf)Ghani my vision of a comprehensive and enduring partnership between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which contributes to the security and prosperity of our two nations and reinforces efforts for peace and development in the region," Mr. Sharif said in his speech.

In his meeting with the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on the sidelines of the conference, Nawaz Sharif pledged that he would not allow the Pakistani soil to be used for terrorist attacks in Afghanistan.

"We agreed that terrorism, a common enemy, must be fought through common endeavors, without any distinction. We reaffirmed the commitment that neither side would allow its territory to be used against the other," the Pakistani prime minister said.

The U.S. and Afghan governments are upbeat at the outcome of the major military operation in North Waziristan tribal region where Pakistani forces also targeted the Haqqani Network, which has been blamed for deadly attacks in Afghanistan.

The much-anticipated offensive has to a large extent diminished the threat to Afghan security. The U.S and Afghan officials had long been demanding of Pakistan to go after the militants in North Waziristan as they believed Afghan militants and al-Qaida remnants had been using the region for cross-border attacks into Afghanistan.

The major stakeholders believe that Pakistan can play a key role in the Afghan reconciliation process with the Taliban insurgents and Hizb-e-Islami, the second largest resistance group of former Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.

Pakistan's top security and foreign affairs adviser, Sartaj Aziz, who accompanied the prime minister at the London Conference, said that Pakistan will facilitate the peace process when the Afghan government decides to whom and where it wants to open dialogue with the insurgent groups.

As part of its role in the reconciliation process, Pakistan has freed about 50 senior Afghan Taliban leaders as a confidence- building measure. The release of the Taliban leaders was made in response to a request by former Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his peace council. Afghan officials, however, have said that none of the freed Taliban leaders have joined the peace process.

Pakistan had also facilitated the opening of the Taliban political office in Qatar last year that had raised hopes for opening the channels of communication between the world community and the Taliban.

The office was, however, closed just a day after it was opened when Karzai raised objections when the Taliban hoisted their white- color flag atop the building and used the plaque of the "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan," the name they had used during their 1996- 2001 rule in the country.

Taliban supreme leader Mullah Omar, in his last message on the Muslim "Eid" festival, reiterated that the Qatar office would be the only venue where Afghan and other stakeholders could meet the Taliban negotiators.

Sources close to the Taliban office have told Xinhua that all Taliban representatives are now in Qatar. Syed Tayyeb Agha, a close confidant of Mullah Omar, is leading the Taliban negotiators.

One analyst here said that the onus is now on the Afghan leadership on how to proceed with the most complicated peace process. The first and major confidence building measure could be Kabul's move to withdraw objections to the opening of the Taliban political office in Qatar that could pave the way for the Taliban interaction with the world community and the Afghan side, the analyst said.

The Taliban have refused to hold talks with the new government and have intensified attacks since the inauguration of President Ashraf Ghani on Sept. 29 in apparent reaction to the controversial security arrangements with the U.S. and NATO that would allow some 12,000 foreign troops to remain in Afghanistan beyond 2014. Enditem