Finally the Afghan government and the Taliban leadership have begun peace talks in Qatar’s capital Doha and the end of this long and ugly war is, for once, within grasp. But for now the two sides have just sat down for the tough negotiations and though this is a big breakthrough it does not by any means imply that everything is almost settled. Indeed, the discussions ahead will test the resolve of both sides as outstanding issues include everything from the nature and composition of any future government, its mandate and the constitution it will follow, women and minority rights, and even the formal name of the country. Let’s not forget that what is the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan now used to be the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan when the Taliban held power. Also, as the negotiations kicked off and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi called it a “historic moment,” nobody should be under the impression that Pakistan is just a bystander as the Afghans and Americans sort out the final details of the peace. Even though everybody from Kabul, Washington all the way to capitals completely irrelevant to the Afghan theatre, like Delhi, have accused Pakistan of double dealing in one way or the other throughout this war, it was eventually when the Americans finally listened to what Islamabad had been saying since General Musharraf’s days that the war finally seemed headed for a definitive end. For if Islamabad hadn’t moved the most important pieces on the board just when American-Taliban negotiations were hanging by a thread, the most likely scenario right now would be the insurgents winning over more land instead of talks towards a ceasefire. A working, enduring peace in Afghanistan is absolutely essential for the entire region. If it wasn’t agonisingly slow before, compared to much of the world, it is going to struggle even more once the effects of the pandemic are over and the real damage caused by it becomes apparent. At such times unending war in any one country is sure to affect everybody else as well. And nobody knows better than Pakistan how easily wars and insurgencies can spill across borders and the effect a security breakdown can have on social as well as economic life. Yet while everybody knows the benefits of peace and just why achieving it is so important, really getting there is another matter altogether. Neither side would want to give too much space to the other. One is the legitimate government and the other has been winning the war on the ground. There will be many problems. That is why all governments that have made these talks possible must now go a step further and do whatever is needed to make sure they succeed as well. *