Washington’s level man in talks geared toward ending a long time of struggle in Afghanistan made a quick go to Monday to Pakistan as relations between Islamabad and Kabul reached a brand new low.
Zalmay Khalilzad’s go to got here simply hours after Afghanistan withdrew its ambassador from Pakistan late Sunday after the diplomat’s daughter was brutally attacked final week. The U.S. envoy met with Pakistan’s highly effective military chief of workers, Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, however nothing was instantly recognized of their discussions.
Pakistan and Afghanistan have an extended and troubled historical past, their relationship fraught with distrust and suspicion. Every accuses the opposite of fomenting violence on its territory whereas additionally harboring its enemies. Pakistan additionally hosts almost 2 million Afghans, refugees from 4 a long time of struggle of their homeland, and lots of in Afghanistan have grown up as refugees in Pakistan earlier than returning.
Khalilzad arrived in Islamabad from Qatar the place the Taliban and Afghan authorities representatives have held two days of talks that ended late Sunday, with a promise by the warring sides to satisfy once more.
It was the very best degree of talks to this point, geared toward jumpstarting a peace course of that has stagnated for months whereas combating inside Afghanistan soared because the U.S. and NATO full their troop withdrawal.
Khalilzad had expressed hope that the edges would agree even to a short lived truce — to mark an important Islamic vacation, Eid al-Adha or “Feast of Sacrifice,” which begins on Tuesday in most Muslim nations. As a substitute, the talks ended with a communiqué that supplied little prospects of an finish to combating anytime quickly.
It promised extra high-level talks and supplied guarantees of higher safety for Afghan civilians caught within the crossfire and for infrastructure.
Final week, Khalilzad attended a global convention in Uzbekistan that attempted to discover a decision for the quickly deteriorating scenario in Afghanistan, however the gathering didn’t produce a roadmap to finish the combating.
Pakistan is seen as key to peace in Afghanistan. The Taliban management is headquartered in Pakistan and Islamabad has used its leverage, which it says is now waning, to press the Taliban to speak peace.
In a press release following Khalilzad’s go to, Pakistan mentioned he met with the pinnacle of the highly effective navy and the pinnacle of the intelligence service recognized by its acronym ISI. He additionally met with Prime Minister Imran Khan, who mentioned Pakistan beneficial properties nothing from continued combating in Afghanistan.
“Battle and instability in Afghanistan was not in Pakistan’s curiosity as it will result in severe challenges for Pakistan in areas of safety and inflow of refugees,” Khan was quoted within the assertion as saying.
Nonetheless, Kabul is deeply crucial of Islamabad’s help to the Taliban, together with hospital therapy for Taliban fighters wounded in battles in Afghanistan. In the newest combating within the city of Spin Boldak in southeastern Afghanistan, Taliban fighters have been seen receiving therapy at a Pakistani hospital throughout the border in Chaman.
Senior Pakistani safety officers had beforehand mentioned that Khalilzad pressed Pakistan to push Taliban leaders to embrace a ceasefire or at the least considerably scale back the violence in Afghanistan to permit a peace course of to take root. The officers spoke on situation of anonymity as a result of they weren’t approved to talk to the media.
Pakistan’s navy management has reportedly warned the Taliban — who’ve not too long ago taken an increasing number of territory amid battlefield wins towards beleaguered Afghan forces — to not make a push on Kabul. Islamabad has additionally reportedly informed the Taliban it is not going to acknowledge a authorities that involves energy by pressure.
Pakistan has additionally been deeply crucial of Kabul, saying it has allowed one other militant group, the Pakistani Taliban — Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan — to seek out security in Afghanistan from the place they’ve launched a rising variety of assaults concentrating on the Pakistan navy.
Whereas the 2 rebel teams are separate, Afghan Taliban leaders have shut ties with the Pakistani Taliban. Some analysts say Pakistan worries that if it pushed the Afghan Taliban too onerous, they’ll in flip push the Pakistani Taliban to step-up their assaults.
In Kabul, the Afghan overseas ministry issued a press release Sunday saying it was recalling its senior diplomats from Islamabad over the assault on the ambassador’s daughter. Silsila Alikhil, 26, was kidnapped in the course of the afternoon within the Pakistani capital, held for a number of hours and brutally assaulted.
The ministry mentioned the diplomats wouldn’t return to Islamabad “till all safety threats are met together with the arrest and trial of the perpetrators of the kidnapping.”