ISLAMABAD - Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz yesterday said no one could dictate terms to the Afghan government or Taliban for reconciliation.
Speaking at Jinnah Institute’s panel discussion ‘From Winter to Spring: Revisiting the Afghan Question’ chaired by Senator Sherry Rehman, here, Aziz said arbitrary timelines, deadlines or conditionalities cannot be attached to the peace process.
Jinnah Institute is a public policy and independent think-tank whose mandate is to bridge the gap between citizens and state by articulating policy responses based on inclusive research, and creating awareness, expanding knowledge bases and facilitating the implementation of recommendations for policy-makers.
Recently, the third meeting of the Quadrilateral Coordination Group was held in Islamabad with the agenda of finding a viable solution to bring peace in Afghanistan. A joint statement after the meeting said a roadmap was agreed upon for peace-talks between Afghan government and the Taliban.
China, the United States, Afghanistan and Pakistan have held multiple rounds of talks, which have so far failed to convince the Taliban to take part and talk peace with the Kabul government. A failure could have fearful consequences for the entire region. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani could face a vicious political backlash at home amid a stepped-up Taliban offensive in the spring.
Sartaj Aziz said the focus of regional stakeholders should be on facilitating an inclusive reconciliation process in Afghanistan.
He noted that the QCG would have to collectively decide how to deal with elements refusing to join the peace process.
He emphasized Pakistan continued to play a consultative role in the Afghan reconciliation process under the principle of shared responsibility.
He observed in the past 15 years, an exclusively military approach had not worked in Afghanistan. “It is important, therefore, to keep the process on track and prevent attempts by spoilers to derail the process,” he added. Aziz said the next QCG meeting has not been scheduled so far.
He said Pakistan felt the pain of Afghans caused by continuing violence in their country. “Pakistan itself has been a victim of brutal terrorism, with attacks in Charsadda and Lahore as recent examples. Pakistan is, therefore, committed to the idea that one of the key goals of the Afghan reconciliation process be reduction, and ultimate cessation, of violence,” he said.
Aziz said both the governments were working on Standard Operating Procedures for better border management to prevent movement of militants across both sides.
Jinnah Institute President Senator Sherry Rehman appreciated President Ashraf Ghani’s role as an advocate of regional stability and change.
She added it was important to strive for an inclusive, Afghan-led peace process given recent Taliban battlefield successes. A negotiated settlement, she noted, was in the best interest of Afghanistan as well as regional players.
Senator Rehman cautioned there were limits to Pakistani state power in leading this conversation. “Both Afghanistan and Pakistan need each other for trade, transit and combating terrorism. But Pakistan has been put in a difficult position: it is fighting one of the largest inland wars against terrorism and the situation is made all the more difficult by a long porous border,” she said.
Afghan Ambassador to Pakistan, Dr Omar Zakhilwal, was of the opinion that it was important to build an environment of trust given that the main hurdle to peace in the region was the Afghan-Pakistan trust deficit.
Taking note of the nature of shared challenges facing both the countries, he agreed that it was important for both sides to talk to each other, and not at each other.
He said his mission in Islamabad was to change mindsets and improving public perceptions. Without peace in Afghanistan, there could be no peace in Pakistan.
The Afghan envoy acknowledged that Pakistan too had paid a high price for regional conflict. He estimated that Pakistan loses $70-80 billion annually due to instability in Afghanistan and the region.
He added that Pakistan would always face roadblocks in its attempt to become a gateway to Central Asia, as would Afghanistan in its attempt to be a land-bridge to Central Asia, if peace continued to elude Afghanistan. He cautioned that elements supporting violence in Afghanistan continued to use Pakistani territory. In his recommendations, the Afghan envoy said it was important to leverage the people-to-people relationship for greater peace and stability given our common ancestry, faith, language and geography.
The ambassador felt while there was a need for genuine, direct, frank and broad-based dialogue between Afghanistan and Pakistan, it was equally important to facilitate media and civil society interaction.
In response to a question about the lack of discernible action against Pakistani militants based in Afghanistan, ambassador Zakhilwal revealed that Afghan cooperation was essential in arresting the culprits behind the Army Public School Peshawar attack.
He added the reach of the Afghan state was limited because the country was in a state of war.