Trump’s decision stunned Pakistan, which had played a significant role in bringing Washington and the Taliban to the negotiating table. The Afghan peace process holds high stakes for Pakistan: Islamabad’s interests are directly tied to a successful outcome.
Washington’s desire to secure an agreement with the Taliban motivated Pakistan’s involvement in the Afghan peace process. Increasing economic pressure on Pakistan, which could explode if the U.S. imposes sanctions on Islamabad for its lack of assistanceon Afghanistan, has added to the country decisionto support Washington. Not more than a year ago, Washington openly opposed Pakistan’s case at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as Islamabad sought financial assistance to stabilize its failing economy. Over the last year, Pakistan led Washington closer to an agreement with the Taliban.
A peace accord between the United States and the Taliban also supports Pakistan’s interests. In the past, the country received immense pressure from the international community-including the U.S. and the Afghan government-as a result of its pro-Taliban policy. Now,Pakistan’s connections with the group are not only granting Pakistan Washington’s favor and assistance, but also vindicating Islamabad’s earlier policy of pushing for dialogue.
Washington’s desire to secure an agreement with the Taliban motivated Pakistan’s involvement in the Afghan peace process
Moreover, the progress concerning the peace process in 2019 means that attaining an agreement between Washington and the Taliban helps Pakistan’s Afghan policy. Pakistan is likely committed to the Afghan peace process to an extent where it attains an agreement between the U.S. and the Taliban.
It’s important to note that the Afghan government still doesn’t represent the Afghan peace talks. Additionally, a scenario where the Afghan political elite directly becomes a stakeholder in the peace process decreases Pakistan’s clout over the entire debate as it involves participants – particularly the Northern Alliance – that are not supporter of Pakistan’s Afghan policy. As it happened in 2019, from Pakistan’s perspective, it makes sense that the ongoing peace process remains central to negotiations between Washington and the Taliban. In this regard, Washington has only aided Pakistan’s plan: in a nutshell, 2019 showed that Washington is not dedicated to a peace process that pushes for a conversation which involves all major political stakeholders from Afghanistan. If anything, Washington is committed to bringing together stakeholders that are pivotal to the cause of gaining an agreement with the Taliban.
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