Pakistan and Afghanistan take baby steps toward better relations
The latest efforts to improve relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan suffered a setback on August 31 when Islamabad temporarily closed its consulate in Jalalabad, eastern Afghanistan, citing security concerns and undue interference in its affairs by the provincial governor.
Afghanistan said the issue was the result of a misunderstanding and pledged to get it resolved. It also assured the security of the consulate general in Jalalabad, which is located in Nangarhar province, bordering Pakistan. It is one of four consulates maintained by Pakistan in Afghanistan, in addition to its embassy in Kabul.
A letter from Pakistan’s embassy to the Afghan foreign ministry requested that Hayatullah Hayat, the governor of Nangarhar province, be told to refrain from interfering in the functioning of the Pakistani consulate general. It also reiterated an oft-repeated request for enhanced security at the consulate. Hayat, who is based in the provincial capital, Jalalabad, is an influential member of President Ashraf Ghani’s administration. Previously he served as governor of the south-western Helmand province, which is considered a stronghold of the Taliban.
The consulate issue emerged just as hopes had been raised of a fresh beginning in Pak-Afghan relations following the installation of the newly elected government of Prime Minister Imran Khan in Pakistan. Ghani had called Khan, the cricketer-turned-politician, to congratulate him on his election victory. The Afghan president later said they had both agreed to move forward and build the foundation for a prosperous political, social and economic future for the neighbouring countries.
In two speeches after winning the election and taking over as prime minister, Khan pledged to improve Pakistan’s relations with neighbouring countries, particularly Afghanistan. He expressed concern over the continued suffering of the Afghan people as a result of the unending conflict and offered his support in promoting the Afghan peace process, in the belief that peace in Pakistan is linked to peace in Afghanistan.
However, this optimism started fading in August when Ghani alleged that injured Afghan Taliban fighters who had launched a five-day assault on Ghazni city had received medical treatment in Pakistan. Afghan officials repeated their previous allegations that Taliban leaders based in Pakistan continue to plan attacks in Afghanistan, but Islamabad has yet to stop or push them out of the country. Afghanistan, together with the US, also reiterated the demand that Pakistan must do more to help bring the Taliban to the negotiating table, or take action against those in the group who refuse to hold peace talks with the Afghan government.
Kabul’s tendency to publicly voice complaints against Islamabad instead of using the APAPPS mechanism to raise such issues means that the level of mistrust has remained high.
Rahimullah Yusufzai
Islamabad in turn described the allegations as spurious and baseless, and said it wants the two countries to move forward and build better relations. Islamabad has also been highlighting the issue of safe havens for armed Pakistani militants that are situated along the long and porous, 2,600 kilometer border in Afghanistan, posing a constant threat to Pakistan.
This was all very familiar and it looked as if the agreement reached in May this year under the Afghanistan Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) to use that platform to discuss all mutual issues was not holding up in the face of rising security incidents. Kabul’s tendency to publicly voice complaints against Islamabad instead of using the APAPPS mechanism to raise such issues means that the level of mistrust has remained high.
However, a telephone conversation between Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani and his Pakistani counterpart, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, on September 3 and their agreement to continue cooperation in pursuit of peace in the region showed that both governments are still keen to improve relations. They agreed that the next round of APAPPS — which operates through six working groups focusing on key issues such as security, the border situation, trade, and Afghan refugees in Pakistan — would be held soon in Islamabad. A joint conference of Afghan and Pakistani religious scholars will also be held in Islamabad to seek an end to the Afghan conflict in light of Islamic teachings.
As a result of their telephone conversation, Qureshi accepted Rabbani’s invitation to visit Kabul soon to further discuss mutual issues. A similar invitation to visit Afghanistan extended by Ghani to Khan has already been accepted, though it might not happen for a while, as the latter has made it clear he will not make any foreign trips during his first three months in office because he wants to focus on domestic issues.
The two foreign ministers also tried to make headway on reopening Pakistan’s consulate in Jalalabad. While Qureshi wanted the Afghan government to restore the previous security arrangements at the consulate, Rabbani mentioned meeting with the Pakistani ambassador in Kabul to resolve the issue. The consulate will reopen once it is provided with adequate security in light of previous incidents, including one in November 2017 when a Pakistani diplomat was shot dead in Jalalabad, and another in June that year when two diplomats were kidnapped and rescued more than a month later after a major search.
Such is the poor state of the Pak-Afghan relationship that even such baby steps towards improving it are keenly awaited and welcomed.
• Rahimullah Yusufzai is senior political and security analyst in Pakistan. He was the first to interview Taliban founder Mullah Mohammad Omar and twice interviewed Osama Bin Laden in 1998. Twitter: @rahimyusufzai1
