Karzai’s visit to Pakistan

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The Afghan President Hamid Karzai visited Pakistan earlier this month to follow up on his meeting with his US and NATO allies to discuss a new strategy to deal with Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan. This two pronged strategy is the brain child of US President Obama who wants to wind up the war in Afghanistan as early as possible. As a first step he sent an extra 30 thousand troops to Afghanistan to accelerate the battle to a finish. But at the same time he asked President Karzai to find avenues of reconciliation with moderate elements of Taliban who are not taking part in the war and are willing to patch up with the Government to return to a peaceful life if they are provided suitable avenues for their employment in peaceful pursuits.

The US and its allies have agreed to set up a fund of US$500 million for the welfare of those who join the bandwagon of peaceful co-existence. Members of Taliban’s leadership council held a secret meeting with the UN representatives to discuss the conditions to lay down their arms. They requested all stakeholders that they may be assured full protection before they come out in public. At an international conference held in London recently, Western Allies of Afghanistan headed by the United States whose forces are fighting in Afghanistan with heavy loss of life of their soldiers participated in the conference. US ambassador Holbrooke has said that this initiative would fill the gap in dealing with Taliban and invite them back into the fold. All stakeholders are keen to donate for the fund because they are all in a hurry to wind up the Afghan war which is most unpopular in their countries and is adversely affecting their own popularity.

The communiqué issued after the conference says the participants welcomed the Afghan government’s initiative to persuade moderate Taliban to renounce and begin a new peaceful phase in their lives to earn their living through jobs which the government would provide them. If they agree to return to a peaceful way of life they will be offered an honorable place in a free society. The conference committed for a peace and reintegration fund for the accommodation of those who return to the fold of the government. The communiqué welcomed the Afghan government’s resolve to complete the majority of its operations in insecure areas of the country within three years and take responsibility for its physical security within five years. International forces committed to support Afghan security by increasing the number of troops to about 300,000 by Oct. 2011. World powers agreed to raise the proportion of development aid from about a third to a half in two years as long as efforts were made to tackle corruption. Taliban have not so far shown any willingness in public for talks, but observers believe they are dead tired of fighting and might gladly accept the offer. The problem however is whether the die hard followers of Osama will agree with moderate elements as expected by the Karzai government, which believes that there is need to win the hearts and minds of the people. The US, while striking the bargain had desired that Pakistan which is also suffering from the Taliban menace must be taken on board in any ceasefire arrangement with radical elements which are the common enemy of both the countries. Pakistan and Afghanistan have a porous border stretching across several hundred miles without any barriers or check posts. The insurgents easily cross into either country without any let or hindrance. When Pakistan armed forces built their pressure along the Pak-Afghan border some very important Taliban leaders slipped quietly into Pakistan and were recently apprehended. On his arrival in Islamabad President Karzai assured Pakistan that he would keep Pakistan on board in his political dialogue with Taliban.

He acknowledged that Pakistan has to play a critical role in this process and without its collaboration it will not be possible to achieve peace and stability in the two countries. One hopes that the trust deficit between the two neighboring countries that has existed for a long time will give way to confidence in each others words. This is indeed essential for the elimination of terrorism in both countries. One major obstacle in Pak-Afghan relations has been India which has penetrated between the two countries with evil intents. President Karzai too has been taking a lot of advantage from India at the cost of Pakistan. However now it seems that the US has put its foot down, warning Afghanistan to smooth out it relations with Pakistan without which America can not win its war against terrorism. Consequently Mr. Karzai has tried to strike a balance in his country’s relations with India and Pakistan. He told a news conference in Islamabad that Afghan President acknowledged India’s contribution in the development of his country and called it a friend but he called Pakistan a conjoined twin. It is hoped that this clarification by President Karzai will dispel the suspicion in Pakistan that India’s growing influence in Afghanistan has been the major cause of concern that Indian agencies are active in destabilizing Pakistan.

Even recently terrorist attacks in Lahore have been attributed to India by the Pakistan Interior Minister. This blame game has been going on between the two countries ever since terror attacks on Mumbai for which India holds Pakistan responsible because the only terrorist who was captured alive is of Pakistani origin. President Karzai in his talks with Pakistani leaders has, however made it clear that Afghanistan does not want any proxy war between India and Pakistan on its soil, nor does it want a proxy war between Iran and the US on its territory. A joint communiqué issued after talks between the foreign ministers of the two countries calls for boosting of economic and trade ties as well as enhancing cooperation in education and agriculture sectors. As a first step the two countries agreed to increase their bilateral trade to$5 billion by 2015. All these developments indicate that Afghanistan has finally agreed to fully cooperate with Pakistan in the war on terror.

As a follow up, a meeting will be held in Washington on March 24 for strategic dialogue between Pakistan and the United States. The Pakistan team will be led by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi while the US team will be headed by US secretary of state Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Pakistan Army Chief General Kiyani and ISI Chief Lt. General Shuja Pasha will also attend the meeting. The dialogue will be broad based covering economic, defense, security and social issues. Americans have indicated that they would be interested in the revival of Pakistan’s economy particularly in the energy sector in which they are willing to finance some major projects.