ISLAMABAD - The ever-declining trust level between Pakistan and the United States received a major boost after the ‘result-oriented’ US-Afghan Taliban dialogue in Qatar, officials said.

Senior officials at the foreign ministry told The Nation that the US had acknowledged Pakistan’s ‘key role’ in arranging the US-Taliban talks.

“Although much needs to be done and the two sides (US and Afghan Taliban) will take time to finalise a deal, there has been progress. The US has given us credit and the trust level between Pakistan and the US has gone up,” said one official.

Another official said that Washington had acknowledged Pakistan’s efforts and pledged to continue the partnership for regional peace and stability. “We have told them (the US) that Pakistan has been making efforts for talks during all these years. The (previous) doubts about Pakistan’s role were unwarranted. We take credit of US-Taliban talks,” he said, citing recent contacts with the US counterparts.

Pak-US ties had soured in recent years with US officials repeatedly accusing Islamabad of ignoring or even collaborating with groups like the Afghan Taliban, which attack Afghanistan from alleged safe havens along the border between the two countries.

The troubled relationship had hit another snag after President Trump declared that he had cancelled assistance worth hundreds of millions of dollars because Islamabad ‘does not do a damn thing’ for the US.

Amid the peace efforts, there was an attempt yesterday to target the Pakistan Consulate General in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan. The Consulate General was closed when an Afghan woman was caught trying to sneak a hand grenade into the consulate, in her personal bag. “The woman was arrested by the police and is under investigation to find perpetrators of the failed attack,” said a foreign ministry statement issued here.

“The embassy of Pakistan in Kabul has urged the Afghan Foreign Office to provide foolproof security to its Consulate General in Mazar-e-Sharif and to share the findings of its investigation at the earliest,” it added.

The ministry said that Pakistan Consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif ‘will remain closed for visa services till the provision of fool-proof security by the authorities in Mazar-e-Sharif to prevent any untoward incident in the Consulate General.”

Yesterday, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that Pakistan’s efforts helped bring the US and Taliban on the talks table. “We have been saying talks were the only solution for durable peace. The world accepted Pakistan’s stance on the peace process, now we are sure about more good news in the future,” he said.

The minister said that he had a productive meeting with the US Senator Lindsey Graham during his visit to Pakistan a few days ago. “A new chapter of Pakistan’s relations with the US has been started,” he said.

Other reports said that Taliban had rejected agreement on ceasefire and direct talks with the Afghan government. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement that the talks ended after consecutive meetings from the past six days in the Doha.

“Progress made during the talks on the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan and other crucial matters. It was also agreed to continue discussion in the future,” he said.

Mujahid said that until the matter of withdrawal of foreign forces was not agreed upon, progress on other issues would be impossible. He rejected reports regarding agreement on ceasefire and direct talks with Afghan.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted that Washington was serious about pursuing peace in Afghanistan as efforts were underway to revive direct talks between Taliban and Afghan government to end the ongoing violence in Afghanistan.

“The US is serious about pursuing peace, preventing Afghanistan from continuing to be a space for international terrorism and bringing forces home,” Pompeo said.

He added: “Working with the Afghan government and all interested parties, the US seeks to strengthen Afghan sovereignty, independence and prosperity.”

US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Ambassador Khalilzad had earlier said that significant progress had been made on vital issues during the 6-day talks with Taliban political leaders in Qatar.

Defence analyst Lt General Raza Khan (R) said that trust deficit between the US administration, Pakistan and Taliban was the biggest hurdle in peace process. He said that Pakistan was taking concrete steps to facilitate the reconciliation process. “All the stakeholders have to play a positive role towards regional peace. We have seen a major shift in Trump administration’s attitude towards Pakistan. Washington should prepare a comprehensive roadmap for the success of negotiations. Withdrawal of US forces is the legitimate demands of Taliban,” he added.

Lt General Ghulam Mustafa (R), another defence analyst said that the complicated Afghan conflict will take some time to resolve. “Taliban are in better position to put forward their demand in front of the US administration. The US policies regarding reconciliation process are not clear. The US has some political interests in the region. The US has finally realised that Pakistan’s support is imperative for Afghan peace process. Pakistan has rendered matchless sacrifices in the war against terrorism,” he said.

 

Progress in Afghan peace
talks boosts Pak-US trust level