Daily Times

Senior Pakistani, Chinese and US officials joined Afghanistan in key talks in Islamabad on January 11, 2016 to explore options to bring the stalled peace process back on track. There are limited expectations forF this four-nation process. After the stalling of the Murree talks, a second round of meetings has been initiated to find a roadmap to bring the bloodshed to an end in Afghanistan. According to the Afghan government’s spokesman, Pakistan has prepared a list of the Taliban who are willing to negotiate with Kabul. There are preliminary surmises about the agenda of the talks and the conditions to be deliberated to persuade the Taliban to come to the negotiating table. It is still unclear which faction of the Taliban is ready to become a part of the peace talks since internal divisions within the Taliban, stepped up attacks by them in Afghanistan and their refusal to hold talks with the incumbent Kabul government have added uncertainty to an already complicated situation.

On its part, Pakistan is making efforts to convince the Taliban to join the talks. The recent visit of COAS Raheel Sharif to Kabul was part of the agenda to mediate between the Taliban and Afghan government. According to a media report, Pakistan had agreed to cut off financial support to the Taliban fighters, including in Quetta and Peshawar. If true, the development shows that Pakistan’s role is critical in bringing peace to war-torn Afghanistan. After the assassination of senior Taliban commander Maulvi Muhammad Alam and reports about Mullah Akhtar Mansour’s being injured in an internal factional shooting incident in Quetta, Pakistan can no longer deny the presence on its soil or its links with the Afghan Taliban. So far Pakistan has remained silent on the presence of the sanctuaries of the Taliban in Pakistan. The incidents in Quetta referred to above have strengthened the common view that the Afghan Taliban have safe havens in Pakistan and enjoy the support of the establishment. Islamabad itself has realised that it could no longer hide its links with the Taliban who are posing a real threat not only to Afghanistan but Pakistan too (the latter in the shape of the home-grown Taloban).

The involvement of China and the US is significant in that it can help strike a peace deal with the Taliban. Those militants who are ready to quit violence must be engaged in talks while those who are not ready to lay down their arms should be eliminated. Peace is in the interests of all stakeholder countries, the region and the world. *