Euro-Pakistan experts discuss chances, challenges in Afghanistan

Islamabad : Krzysztof Iwanek, contributor to ‘The Diplomat’, Warsaw, Poland, has said that the TTP will be labelled as an internal problem for Pakistan by the Taliban regime in Kabul and Pakistan will not receive any assistance from the group in this regard. Mr Iwanek was speaking at an online discussion on “Security implications of developments in Afghanistan – views from Europe and Pakistan” organised here by Institute of Strategic Studies (ISS) in collaboration with Sofia Security Forum, South East European Centre For Asia-Pacific Studies (SEECAPS) and the Embassy of Pakistan in Bulgaria.

Mr Iwanek said that Pakistan played an instrumental role in getting the Taliban into power in Afghanistan by providing assistance to them for years. He said now that the Taliban took over Kabul, Pakistan’s relationship with most countries shall transform in a good way, with a few challenges. He said that Pakistan’s capacity to help Afghanistan is not huge, it can convince other states to provide assistance to the Taliban regime, he said adding that Pakistan can play a key role in helping the Taliban gain international recognition.

Plamen Tonchev, Head of Asia Unit, Institute of International Economic Relations, Greece, and Executive Director of SEECAPS was of the view that the trillion dollar question is what next in Afghanistan and where the situation in the country heading and what will the international community and Afghanistan’s neighboring countries going to do about it. He further said that two key factors which determine a country’s attitude to engage in Afghanistan are geographical proximity and willingness to engage with the Taliban and to what extent these countries are accepted by the Taliban.

Former ambassador Asif Durrani stated that challenges in Afghanistan are becoming more serious with the advent of winters in Afghanistan and that we have to prioritise the problems as ten years ago there was no presence of Daesh in the country. He further said that the US has to fulfill its obligations and delist the Taliban from the 1267 sanctions regime.

Barbara Kelemen from Central European Institute of Asian Studies (CEIAS) was of the view that the Chinese strategy for a long time has been to use the economic aspect to stabilise a country. She further said that China has interests in Afghanistan that are deeply tied to security and strategy. In this regard, China can help stabilize the country by using economic means.

Yordan Bozhilov, President, SEECAPS, said that the EU and Pakistan are the main stakeholders in the region.

Mariam Aftab, ambassador of Pakistan in Bulgaria, in her welcome remarks said that such interactions help build bridges between scholars and stakeholders.

Elena Atanasova-Cornelis, founding member of SEECAPS stated that the relevance of Afghanistan for the EU cannot be denied at this importance juncture. Earlier in his opening remarks, Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, director-general, ISS, said that Pakistan suffered for more than four decades and also hosted refugees. He further said that the region and particularly Pakistan has suffered due to the lack of peace in Afghanistan.