Book on Pak-Afghanistan relations launched

Islamabad: Eminent Journalist Zahid Hussain has said that after the Doha agreement had taken place, it was very clear that it would be the end of the American war in Afghanistan.

Hussain was speaking at the launching ceremony of the book ‘Pakistan-Afghanistan relations: pitfalls and the way forward’ edited by Dr. Huma Baqai from the Institute of Business Administration, Karachi. The book launching was organised here by the Institute of Strategic Studies (ISS) in collaboration with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), Pakistan. Amina Khan from ISS conducted the proceedings.

Hussain said it was expected that there would be a protracted civil war in the country after the US withdrawal. He said the war started in 2001 was a revenge attack by the US and that the US was not very clear about its involvement in Afghanistan and the American public was also misled into believing that it was a successful war. He said that Pakistan always maintained the stance that there was no military solution to the problem. Importantly, he said that the US and Pakistani interests diverged and converged throughout the US involvement in Afghanistan.

Dr Nausheen Wasi, Department of International Relations, University of Karachi, said that while Afghans view the Pak-Afghan relations from a bilateral lens, Pakistan views it from a multilateral perspective. Hence, the task was to find a mating ground for both sides and bridge the existing perception gap. She said that the thrust in Afghanistan has changed and the situation is evolving rapidly.