For peace in Afghanistan, it's pertinent for Pakistan-US ties to be on a better footing first
The question on the minds of several people in Pakistan and the United States is whether their governments can put the strained relations between the two countries behind them and move forward for the betterment of Afghanistan by restarting the stalled peace process for the country.
US President Donald Trump’s recent letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan, seeking Pakistan’s support to bring an end to the Afghan conflict through a negotiated settlement with the Taliban, came as a surprise for many. Up until that point, he had been critical of Pakistan for allegedly harboring terrorists who were responsible for the deaths of Americans in Afghanistan.
Since announcing the new US policy for Afghanistan and South Asia in August last year -- wherein he had made serious allegations against Pakistan -- Trump had been pushing Islamabad to do more in its fight against the war on terror.
Trump’s letter to Khan was sent at a time when Zalmay Khalilzad, the US' special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, was visiting Pakistan.
According to the White House, the letter urged Pakistan’s cooperation for Khalilzad’s mission and full support for the Afghan peace process. It recognized that “Pakistan has the ability to deny the Taliban sanctuary on its territories,” and made it clear that “Pakistan’s assistance with the Afghan peace process is fundamental to building an enduring US-Pakistan partnership.”
It was 67-year-old Khalilzad’s second visit to Pakistan after his appointment in September. As part of his diplomatic efforts, he has visited a number of countries which could play a role in the Afghan peace process, while also holding talks with the Taliban in Doha, Qatar.
However, the Taliban continued to resist the US' demands to declare a ceasefire in Afghanistan and agreed to hold talks with the Afghan government.
With no apparent breakthrough in the US-Taliban talks in Qatar, Pakistan’s help is being sought to break the stalemate.
Trump’s letter aims at prompting Pakistan in order to persuade thr Taliban to come to the negotiations table with the national unity government of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Dr Abdullah.
According to Pakistan’s foreign ministry, Trump in his letter said that an Afghanistan peace settlement was “his most important regional priority” and for this to happen he needed Islamabad’s support and facilitation.
This shows the importance being given by the Trump administration to ending the 17-year-old war in Afghanistan -- considered to be America’s longest -- which began on October 7, 2001 with the US' invasion, in retaliation to the 9/11 attacks.
It is too early to predict how effective Pakistan’s role would be in the Afghan peace process. It is, however, obvious that the troubled US-Pakistan relationship needs to be repaired through trust-building measures before the two sides can cooperate in a meaningful manner to fight terrorism and ensure peace in Afghanistan once again.
Rahimullah Yusufzai
Even though PM Khan, in his response, said that his government would try its best "to make the Afghan Taliban sit together with the Americans so that negotiations can be carried forward,” he didn’t say how this would be done because Pakistan has been claiming that its influence on Taliban has diminished.
Besides, the Americans are already talking to the Taliban and have held three rounds of talks. However, they want Pakistan to put additional pressure on the Taliban to agree to direct talks with the Afghan government.
An exultant Khan has repeatedly said in the aftermath of Trump’s letter that those telling Pakistan to ‘do more’ in the war against terror were now seeking its help to bring the Afghan conflict to a peaceful end.
He reiterated his comments from the past that only a political solution -- instead of a military victory -- would resolve the Afghan issue.
Pledging that Pakistan won’t compromise on its national interests, he pointedly told the US that Pakistan would no longer fight others’ wars as it wasn’t a hired gun.
Prior to receiving the letter, Khan had hit back at Trump's criticism of Pakistan by asking him to name an ally that had sacrificed more than Islamabad in the war against terror.
He was piqued by Trump’s statement that he had cancelled assistance worth hundreds of millions of dollars to Pakistan because it does not do “a damn thing” for the US.
Pakistan’s powerful military also announced “support to all stakeholders to bring the Afghan war to a peaceful logical conclusion.” Highlighting the importance of a regional approach to eliminate the roots of terrorism, it said it was attaching hopes to the success of the ongoing Afghan reconciliation process.
As underscored by Pakistani leaders, Islamabad is seeking improved economic and military ties with the US instead of making the relationship rely solely on Afghanistan.
They have spoken of building China-like ties with the US. Pakistani officials also keep arguing that achieving peace in Afghanistan has to be the shared responsibility of global and regional powers, including India and Iran, instead of of Pakistan alone.
It is too early to predict how effective Pakistan’s role would be in the Afghan peace process. It is, however, obvious that the troubled US-Pakistan relationship needs to be repaired through trust-building measures before the two sides can cooperate in a meaningful manner to fight terrorism and ensure peace in Afghanistan once again.
• Rahimullah Yusufzai is senior political and security analyst of Pakistan. He was the first to interview Taliban founder Mullah Mohammad Omar and twice interviewed Osama Bin Laden in 1998. Twitter: @rahimyusufzai1
