Throughout human history when borders were being drawn the neighboring states had a key role in determining the progress of the country. The history of central Europe is ridden by the influence and role of neighbors either its peace or war. The key evidence in this regard is the fact that when Europe intertwined with waves of reformation it started from few states and later took whole Europe into its chakra and now we see Europe leading the international politics from the front.
The aforementioned proposition advocates the importance of neighbors in the progress of a country. Afghanistan is also surrounded by neighbors and the current peace process cannot be complete without the role of its neighbors. Uzbekistan too is trying to play its role in altering the future of its neighbor Afghanistan. The representative at the opening session had expressed the direct dialogue as a ray of hope for a peaceful life ahead for the Afghan people. It is often stated that after the stabilization of the situation in Afghanistan, the President of Uzbekistan had asserted and took initiatives that reshaped the views of external players towards Afghanistan and helped in restarting the negotiation process.
Uzbekistan’s basic formula behind key stakeholders in Afghanistan is simple; winning the hearts through intensive economic cooperation with Kabul
There’s a particular reason why Tashkent is getting so much of the center-stage during the Afghan peace process. In March 2018, an International Tashkent Conference was being held in Afghanistan. This served as the triggering point for the Afghan peace process. This forum helped Afghanistan get the attention of the world on the ongoing bloodshed in the country. Later different stakeholders including president Ashraf Ghani met and adopted the Tashkent Declaration. This was also acknowledged by Zalmay Khalilzad, the US representative for Afghanistan. The conference proved to be the cornerstone for establishing peace in Afghanistan and later in the shape of a peace deal in became more clear that Uzbekistan has once again proved to be the supporter of peace in Afghanistan. In this regard afghan president Mr. Ashraf Ghani who recently said that “The Tashkent International Conference on Afghanistan, held two years ago at the initiative of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, became a key event – a “starting point” in launching a political process for a peaceful settlement of the Afghan problem, searching for mutually acceptable forms and mechanisms of dialogue between stakeholders”. Moreover Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad also speaks about the decisive role of the Tashkent Forum, recognizing that the conference laid a solid foundation for achieving current practical results. Uzbekistan’s support for peaceful political solutions has been also prominent in the past at times of Soviet siege on Kabul. During the conference, the social miseries of Afghan people were also brought into the importance and there had been a special emphasis on the need for a political solution for Afghan peace.
Not only were international players applauded the efforts of Tashkent but the Taliban as well shared there sincere gratitude towards Uzbekistan. Nevertheless, Uzbekistan’s basic formula behind key stakeholders in Afghanistan is simple; winning the hearts through intensive economic cooperation with Kabul. This includes the successful implementation of transport and logistics projects, as well as the expansion of educational programs. The importance of Uzbekistan is also since it holds authority among other domestic political forces in Afghanistan, including the Taliban and it is not of today but in past, it held such ability as well.
Uzbekistan’s conviction with the well-being of Afghan society and its people can be seen through the times of pandemic when the whole world was crippled and states started acting in the self-sustaining mechanism, Tashkent didn’t leave their neighbors even at that times as well. While other countries have closed their borders with Afghanistan due to the pandemic, Uzbekistan has once again shown a truly brotherly attitude towards Afghans. Upon special instructions form, the president of Uzbekistan borders was kept open for the smooth transfer of essential goods and other needs. Moreover, the president of Uzbekistan repeatedly sent humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan. It is noteworthy that UN Secretary-General A. Guterres expressed gratitude to President Mirziyoyev for his efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to the affected states in the region, including Afghanistan.
Another aspect that is worthy to be discussed here is that it is due to the efforts of Uzbekistan which highlighted Kabul as the integral and strategically important part of Central Asia. Now Afghanistan is being recognized as pivotal to Central Asia as well which was obscured rarely discussed in the past.
It is time that the world shall acknowledge the hard work and efforts which Tashkent has put to bring peace to Afghan soil and when the world appreciates the work of other stakeholders initiatives of H.E. President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Mr. Shavkat Mirziyoyev on Afghan settlement shall also be in upper echelons. Nevertheless, another reason why Uzbekistan’s role shall be appreciated is since it is not just past and present but more importantly it is the future of Afghanistan which is imbued with Tashkent.
The writer is the Founder & Executive Director of Islamabad Institute of Conflict Resolution (IICR), and member visiting faculty Dept. of Peace & Conflict Studies, NUML, and School of Politics & IR, Quaid-I- Azam University, Islamabad