For some time now, China has been engaged in the onerous task of helping Afghanistan and Pakistan tide over their differences with a view to advancing the cause of peace in the region and opening up the prospects for progress of their impoverished people. With every passing day, there appears to be more energy and effort going into this initiative. This was the crowning message that came through at the track-II trilateral dialogue involving China, Afghanistan and Pakistan held in Islamabad on May 15 under the umbrella theme of “China-Afghanistan-Pakistan: Constructive Engagement for Sustainable Growth”. The dialogue was organised by the Regional Peace Institute (RPI) in collaboration with the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad. The three working sessions discussed the sub-themes of “Rebuilding Trust: Small Steps to Big Goals”, “CPEC: Development and Progress through Connectivity” and “Sustainable Peace by Defeating Terror through Interdependence and Inclusiveness”, reflecting the political, economic and strategic domains of the challenge. Politicians, technocrats, former diplomats and senior army officers, media practitioners, think-tankers, scholars and academics from the three countries took part in the parleys and presented their papers outlining the issues of the region and the ways to move forward. The principal stress was on developing connectivity in multiple spheres and at multiple levels. Afghanistan-Pakistan relations are symbolised by 70 years of weaving dreams only to see them shattering in bits at the crossroads of challenges along the way. Not that there has been any dearth of wanting to move across the threshold from either side, it is just that the level of trust required to overcome the numerous impediments successfully, some of their own making and some of others’, has been found wanting in the end. So, the smallest occurrence to the detriment of either country has, in the past, resulted in a barrage of caustic accusations flying both ways. Moving away from the technicalities of the lingering disputes, there are no two countries in the world which are more qualified to be close to each other, or which need bilateral engagement more than any other countries. It is unfortunate that the legacy of a border controversy has remained central to the two countries’ inability to work beyond their other disagreements for establishing a level of trust that would help them tide over their differences. As the National Security Advisor, Lt. Gen. (R) Nasser Khan Janjua said in his inaugural address, “Afghanistan and Pakistan have been partners in pain and suffering. We need to move beyond that and become partners in progress and development”. Will this remain just that – a dream? Peace in the larger South-Asian region is vital to the attainment of the objectives of China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a key pillar of the larger project which aims at the economic empowerment of the whole region, beginning with Pakistan. Afghanistan becoming a part of CPEC is the link needed to expand it further into Central-Asia and beyond. Alongside other recommendations, this was the focal point of most of the presentations made by scholars and academics from the three countries. They delved into the need for expanding economic connectivity as the basis for national and regional empowerment. Times, they contended, have changed and we have now entered an arena where economic solvency alone would provide the strength for countries to move forward on the road to attaining sustainable growth. Interdependence and inclusiveness are the needs of this age and no country can stand-alone in a world becoming increasingly open and transparent. Instead of going for the big things, the speakers urged the two countries to continue taking small and meaningful steps, both in the kinetic and non-kinetic domains. These steps will then join up to facilitate the attainment of bigger goals. The initial steps should cover collaboration in the economic, educational, social, culture, sports, arts and such other areas which can help cultivate a level of commonality between the two neighbours. There should be uninterrupted people-to-people contacts and institutions as the two countries work for the attainment of mutually-beneficial ideals and objectives. Let journalists from Pakistan be stationed in Afghanistan and vice versa, and let twinning of cities and regions of the two countries be initiated. Let there be investments made across the border. Let the two countries support each other for better trade deals. Visits of parliamentarians and academics should become a routine matter. Let artists be given the tools to paint and singers the motivation to hum the tunes of peace. More importantly, tendency of negative statements emanating from each country should be curbed. Instead of being a bone of contention, the Pashtun population across the divide could become a powerful and sustainable bond between the two neighbours in bringing them together in pursuit of the elusive goal of peace. In the non-kinetic domain, institutions from the two countries should not waste their time in needless fighting. They should be working together for addressing the mammoth challenges of radicalisation and militancy and removing the bickering doubts that have traditionally stymied the prospect of friendship between the two neighbours. The need for transiting from strategic fixes to attaining economic solvency is one big message that came out of the conference. Countries feigning to be powerful by the dint of possessing huge stockpiles of lethal arsenal usually have an impoverished populace which is prone to falling into the radical quagmire, thus posing a threat to the national and regional edifice. It is in their economic and social empowerment that states should invest in, thus transforming them into viable constituents of progress and compassion. But, it is in the dream of peace that the countries of the region, most notably Afghanistan and Pakistan, need to invest. China is positioned to providing the push that the two neighbours may need to move in that direction. Peace is a compulsion for the attainment of China’s ambitious economic goals as it is for Afghanistan and Pakistan to free their people of the stranglehold of poverty and misery. For much too long, they have suffered the ravages of war and fratricide. They need to move beyond the scourge of bloodshed and terror into a realm that promises hope for the future – hope for them, but, more importantly, hope for their younger generations to be able to think beyond war, death and destruction. Let stockpiling of deadly arsenal give way to investment in education, health and the well-being of the impoverished people. Let them have a reason to raise their heads high and think of a future that may spell a change from what they have so painfully endured for decades. There were sparks at the conference, too – sparks emanating from a past of dashed hopes and dreams. Trust is at low ebb and it is not going to be re-cultivated in a day, or a week, even a month. It’ll take time, may be a long time. Both countries need to invest in it on a priority basis, and without faltering along the way. Can China do what other countries have failed to do? What role the prolonged American presence in the region will play, particularly in moving forward in the Afghanistan-Pakistan realm? Can China succeed beyond this factor, beyond the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) effort, and beyond the apparently growing divergence in the strategic objectives of the key players in the region? With their respective dependence on the US and China, will Afghanistan and Pakistan be able to grab this opportunity to change their fate, and that of the larger region? These and other such challenges will have to be tackled in this big push for peace that China is spearheading. Secured with the active support of China, Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) is a heartening beginning on the long and arduous road to peace. What is needed is to keep doing small things and building the momentum towards the attainment of the objectives as spelled out in the 7-point document. Let me beckon the optimist in me. There is palpable resonance of hope in all this – and it spells good tidings! Published in Daily Times, May 20th 2018.