Daily Times

“This, therefore, is a faded dream of the time when I went down into the dust and noise of the Eastern market-place, and with my brain and muscles, with sweat and constant thinking, made others see my visions come true. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that all was vanity. But the dreamers of the day are dangerous men and women, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible.” — T. E. Lawrence

Pakistan’s long-standing dispute with Kabul, often marked by aggravating bitterness, seems to be entering another phase.

President Ghani’s recent declaration that Afghanistan was “ready for comprehensive political talks and that peace with Pakistan was in our national agenda” comes amidst a sequence of renewed interactions between the two countries at multiple levels including the diplomatic and the military. This is a good omen, as good as any can be given the levels of estrangement that the bilateral relations between the two neighbours had degenerated to in the recent past.

Let’s not take anything away from President Ghani’s desire to have friendly relations with Pakistan. The risky initiative that he had embarked upon soon after coming into power in Afghanistan and the hope and enthusiasm it had generated is still fresh in our memories. But, it died out as quickly as it had been ignited and the two countries slumped into an unending verbal spat of mutual accusations, occasionally interspersed with volleys of fire exchanged across a long and porous border. Is President Ghani’s latest declaration going to be any different from the previous proclamations in terms of viable and sustainable outcomes?

I don’t know of another two neighbouring countries in the world where the prospect of peace virtually bears an inerasable stamp of faith. That is the case between Afghanistan and Pakistan — two countries which are so incessantly dependent on each other for so much that goes on in their lives with almost a hundred-thousand people moving across the border on a daily basis for multiple reasons including business, medical treatment, education and so much else.

I am one of those inveterate dreamers for whom peace between the two combative neighbours is a passion and who strongly believes that it is not just possible, it is inevitable. But I also believe that this will not come about simply by dreaming about the prospect. It’ll come about if the two countries are willing to radically remodel their respective approach to securing peace.

The spectre of terror is a common threat which should have brought the two countries together to fight and eliminate. Instead, there is a spate of accusations hurled at each other with regard to helping one or the other brand of terror, and not without tangible reason/s. While Pakistan has suffered more than any other country at the hands of terror, and it is also that one country which, speaking qualitatively, has successfully combated it, its broad approach remains a matter of wide speculation.

Peace will not come about simply by dreaming about it. It’ll come about if Pakistan and Afghanistan are willing to radically remodel their respective approach to securing peace

It is often accused of being selective in targeting terror with regard to the Tehrik-e-Taliban Afghanistan (TTA) and the Haqqani Network. In turn, Afghanistan is accused of harbouring the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) which its neighbouring state is engaged in combating. If the ultimate objective of both countries remains eliminating all forms, hues and shades of terror, as indeed it should, they’ll need to cross the threshold of mistrust and coordinate their activities, thus ending a major ingredient of bickering and recrimination.

Pakistan, on its part, has much to showcase by way of denting the hold of terror in many parts of the country including areas bordering Afghanistan. But, it is alleged that these efforts have not been fully supplemented by Afghanistan in terms of action on their side of the border and the fleeing terrorists have been allowed the space to regroup and operate from there. This has weakened the impact of operations conducted on Pakistan’s side of the border.

Smitten with capacity issues, Pakistan’s incremental approach appears to be the most viable method to combat all brands of terror in the end. The effectiveness of this can be enhanced manifold if Afghanistan were to join in as a close partner by agreeing to a well-coordinated umbrella approach. This is the most critical component of fighting terror on the one hand and building the requisite level of trust among the two countries on the other. But, this must emanate from the inviolable conviction that, in the end, all brands of terror, this or that side of the border, are to be combated and eliminated, without discrimination.

Pakistan’s continuing zero-sum approach is a major hurdle in the path of normalising relations among the two neighbours. Afghanistan’s closeness with India is perceived negatively as a threat to Pakistan’s security paradigm. While Afghanistan has to ensure that its soil is not used for launching subversive activities against Pakistan and vice versa, its right for continued good relations with India cannot be taken away. What, however, can happen is that, in the event of their bilateral relations transforming from the existent state of bitterness to growing trust and confidence, it may help eliminate the fear syndrome that Pakistan may be afflicted with at this juncture of their relations. This would be the most natural outcome of increased and productive engagement at multiple levels, particularly at the people-to-people level.

Afghanistan also has to do some serious work at countering the vast divergence of perceptions and approach within its own ranks. The commitment to peace should bear the stamp of approval of all echelons within the government. Only then will it generate any healthy forward momentum.

Afghanistan and Pakistan cannot afford to remain locked in a perpetual cycle of violence and destruction. President Ghani’s peace overture opens a crevice of hope and opportunity. It should not be allowed to fall prey at the altar of the sceptics. Let it be embraced urgently by the collective vision of the two countries. Let it resonate from every heart which is laden with the desire for peace and let it rise to a crescendo to drown the cynics and the naysayers.

The writer is a political and security strategist, and heads the Regional Peace Institute — an Islamabad-based think tank. Email: raoofhasan@hotmail.com. Twitter: @RaoofHasan

Published in Daily Times, September 5th 2017.