On the right track

The third meeting of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Committee – a Track-II diplomatic initiative by experts from both countries – concluded on a note of optimism in Kabul last Sunday as both sides advised their governments to refrain from automatically blaming each other for any issues that might arise between the two countries and expressed hope that the Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) would lead to improved relations. While there is a limit to how much members of civil society can achieve in the realm of foreign policy, this Track-II meeting comes right after an uptick in ties between the governments of the two countries. Pakistan was believed to be at the forefront of efforts to broker a ceasefire between the Afghan Taliban and the Afghan government over Eid and meetings between Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa and Afghan government officials also yielded positive results. The US, too, has recognised that Pakistan is needed to bring the Afghan Taliban to the negotiating table, raising hopes that all sides may begin a new era of cooperation. As always, though, there is always the danger of events on the ground disrupting any progress that has been made. The historically poor ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan has left a cloud of mistrust hanging over our heads. Continuing to improve ties requires refraining from instantly trying to scapegoat the other side whenever problems arise.

The Track-II initiative specifically addressed that in its statement when it asked both sides to avoid a public blame game. This is a reference to the habit both countries have of immediately blaming each other whenever there is a militant attack. Each country accuses the other of sheltering militant groups and refusing to take action against them. For Pakistan, the Afghan government’s refusal to take action against the TTP and like-minded groups has been a constant source of frustration while for the Afghans our lack of focus on the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network has been the problem. Resolving this will require government-to-government engagement but Track-II initiatives are important in keeping alive person-to-person contact and finding areas where our interests could converge, such as on trade and investment. The APAPPS has laid a framework for cooperation on border security and the tackling of militancy and Track-II initiatives are needed to ensure that the governments of both countries abide by the letter and spirit of the agreement. There is still a long way to go before Pakistan and Afghanistan can call themselves allies but through regular meetings and open dialogue incremental progress has been made.