Finally the end of the ugly Afghan war seems within sight. And as the Americans pack up and leave a number of questions will naturally fill the news cycle; not the least about what this war, which took a very heavy toll indeed on millions upon millions of people, really achieve? It is strange, to say the least, that the Americans are already treating this end through negotiations, during which the Taliban were arguably on the front foot since they were the ones winning more and more land, as something of a grand victory. The more right-wing of the US media is already counting on this “win” to assure Trump of a heavy reelection. But while all that goes on in the US, let nobody forget the part that Pakistan has played in this war. Surely by now everybody has realised that if hadn’t been for Islamabad’s leverage with the Taliban, however limited, this peace would forever have remained elusive. Sadly, for most of the long years of this war, the Americans not just ignored Pakistan’s advice of talking to the local Taliban to isolate the Arab al Qaeda militias, but also accused it of sympathising with, if not aiding, the enemy. Who stands vindicated now that, years later, it is the Americans that have practically bent over backwards to first get the Taliban to the table then keep them talking. If only they had listened in the beginning. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi is right, therefore, that Pakistan’s efforts must be appreciated. And, contrary to popular belief, that does not just mean that Washington should look more favourably to us with regard to aid once again. It also means that America must not repeat the mistake of the last Afghan war, when it quickly left to celebrate the Russian fall, leaving Pakistan to deal with all the militias the CIA had itself bankrolled and trained. Of course we are in desperate need of financial assistance. And we would like the Americans to resume the aid that they cut because they thought we were frustrating them in Afghanistan. But it is far more important, not just from our point of view, for the State Department to remain engaged with Afghanistan. There will, naturally, be a fair degree of chaos once the Afghan government and Taliban stop fighting and start working together. And everybody will need all the help they can get. *