Abdul Rahman Malik |
After a poisonous and outrageous tirade against Pakistan, Finally, US President Donald Trump has realized that the Peace in Afghanistan is not possible without cooperation from Pakistan.
He might have been advised by think tanks that the world has become Multipolar and America has lost its stake as sole Superpower to influence its decisions on other countries of the World. Pakistan has welcomed the decision since it had always advocated that Afghan Solution lies in peaceful dialogue with the Taliban to reach an agreement to bring peace in Afghanistan.
The Foreign Ministry of Russia played its key rule and managed to send Taliban representatives to attend peace Talks at Moscow. It was an international conference aimed at peace though it bore little fruit.
Since Pakistan and US have suffered several losses in the war on terror so both have to work together to bring lasting peace in Afghanistan.
Prior to his letter, Donald Trump had started Twitter blasts against Pakistan by leveling insensible and baseless allegations against Pakistan that, It has deceived the US, Pakistan did not do ” the damn thing” for US etc, that triggered cold war on Twitter with a strong response from PM and Pakistan Army. At that Stage, both Civil and Military Leadership appeared to be on the same page and PM through the Tweet set the records straight.
There was a strong statement from Pakistan that Pakistan does not need any aid or military Aid since the clouds of mistrust have set in and that have plagued the fragile Pak-US relations. Pakistan had made it clear that US hegemonic attitude cannot deter Pakistan from its sovereign Status and the US decisions cannot be influenced any more as we have done more and Lost more in so-called War on Terror and it’s the turn of US to do more.
Read more: Admission of defeat? Trump writes to PM Khan
Trump’s outburst did not stop here; He even pushed the IMF not give any loan to Pakistan since it will be used to repay Chinese loans that were yet another baseless prediction that had spoiled its already unpopular status as US president. Since his untimely spinning beans have further aggravated the US-PAK relations in Trump Administration.
His failures can be ascertained from his humiliating defeat in Mid Term Elections 2018. These are the clear examples of his offensive and aggressive attitude that has cost the US a lot and his unpopular decisions continue unabated despite being the center of criticism.
The US-backed Afghan Government did not come in direct contact with the Taliban leadership instead sent members of its Peace Council to proceed with the Peace Talks with Taliban Leadership.
The recent peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government held on 9th November 2018 in Russia to find a peaceful solution to Afghan war since wars could find out any solution. In this connection, the Afghan Government and Taliban representatives attended the moot while Russia played its role to reach an agreement to bring peace in war-torn Afghanistan where thousands of people have been killed in NATO Forces air and ground attacks and several innocent people have lost their lives in the skirmish between the Taliban and US Military fight.
The current US-backed Government in Kabul attempted to reach a truce with Islamic Rebels Taliban to bring peace in the country and rebuild the infrastructure destroyed by long War and Gorilla war starting from US Air Strikes in 2001 on the pretext of Axis of Evil and to NAB Osama bin Laden – An Al-Qaida terrorist most wanted by US and a well revered and elevated Hero in the eyes of Taliban Rebels.
Read more: Is Trump’s letter a failure of his “New South Asia” policy?
The Taliban and Afghan Government moot demonstrated the Moscow’s initiative to settle the issues in Afghanistan and bring peace after almost 30 years since the then Soviet Union withdrew its forces and It was later disintegrated. The Foreign Ministry of Russia played its key rule and managed to send Taliban representatives to attend peace Talks at Moscow. It was an international conference aimed at peace though it bore little fruit.
The US-backed Afghan Government did not come in direct contact with the Taliban leadership instead sent members of its Peace Council to proceed with the Peace Talks with Taliban Leadership. Though Peace council was a national level body, yet it was a non-governmental body to engage with the Taliban for the possible peace agreement. The Russia Peace Talks were also attended by the representatives from Iran, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan.
The US president Trump said in his letter that US relations with Pakistan are very important in order to solve the Afghan conflict especially bringing the insurgent Taliban forces to negotiating table in order to bring lasting peace in the country.
It is evident from the recent move that Moscow geared to seek a greater role in international diplomacy in recent years and taking initiatives to settle disputes that are often given less attention by the US. Russia had also initiated talks on a Syria Crisis sponsoring the regional powers i.e Turkey and Iran.
Despite the US has a military presence in Syria and Afghanistan, yet it has further aggravated the circumstances and has failed to find the solution for peaceful withdrawal from these war-ravaged countries. Though US has been successful to initiate an offensive against ISIS in Syria and Taliban in Afghanistan, yet the situation is going from bad to verse with each Passing day and the US further stay will not be possible given the circumstance and scenario emerging recently.
The Taliban delegation representative said that they would not talk to the Afghan government till withdrawal of NATO forces. Though it was a good opportunity yet it was missed due to a lack of possible groundwork and planning.
Read more: Why Trump hates Pakistan? – Dr. Zafar Nawaz Jaspal
Finally, after the aggressive outburst, US president Donald Trump has decided to take the issue regressively, prompting him to write a letter to Pakistan and seeking help and cooperation to hold peace talks with the Afghan Taliban Rebels.
The US president Trump said in his letter that US relations with Pakistan are very important in order to solve the Afghan conflict especially bringing the insurgent Taliban forces to negotiating table in order to bring lasting peace in the country.
The US special envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad is also expected to Visit Pakistan to have talks regarding the issue and finding possible options to engage with Taliban for peace Talks though his previous visits were impressive but failed to produce desired results and the result was same when Khalil engaged with Taliban leadership for the peace process.
Imran Khan said in his tweet that Pakistan has suffered more than 75,000 casualties in the war on terrorism and agreed to cooperate with the United States in that effort, even though “no Pakistani was involved” in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The eagerness of Donald Trump after twitter outburst shows that the US is planning to leave both Syria and Afghanistan since its strikes have failed to bear fruit and cost it heavy financial and military losses.
In order to get rid of Afghanistan conflict, Pakistan has always remained a key ally of US in War against terror and US President is of the view that Pakistan can play a vital role to bring the rebellious Taliban to negotiating table with current Afghan regime under Ashraf Ghani.
Moreover, the way our Army conducted successful Operations i.e Zarb-e-Azab, Radul Fassad etc, the terrorism declined manifold in comparison to past statistics. Despite the variable gain, Pakistan had lost several innocent civilians under US Drone Strikes in the FATA region and several soldiers were martyred in the fight against terrorism.
Read more: Pakistan responds to Trump’s tantrums
PM Imran has also made it clear that the US must appreciate Pakistan’s efforts for Afghan Peace as Pakistan is already overburdened with Afghan refugees, if peace returns to Afghanistan, these could be repatriated to their homeland.
Imran Khan said in his tweet that Pakistan has suffered more than 75,000 casualties in the war on terrorism and agreed to cooperate with the United States in that effort, even though “no Pakistani was involved” in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. He further said that US should not make Pakistan a Scapegoat for US failures rather it should assess thoroughly why they have failed in the war and why the Taliban are still undeterred and strong.
The Sharable Government may be the option for reaching on any agreement. In this connection, Pakistan’s role is crucial and will definitely bear fruit in bringing peace to the region.
The development on Monday was a positive sign since Trump sought help from Pakistan for bringing Peace in Afghanistan and the move was warmly welcomed and Pakistan believed that a peaceful Afghanistan will favor Pakistan; as Pakistan has always advocated the political solution to the problems rather the military one.
The US Peace gesture gets the positive response from all the stakeholders in Pakistan including civil and the military leadership. It is high time that Both the countries should work together and extend their Partnership in maintaining peace in the region and end the 17 year War in Afghanistan with a Political solution so that the Afghan government should focus on development and welfare of people.
Read more: War no option for India and Pakistan, says Imran Khan
The Regional powers China, Russia and US can facilitate this peace plan that could be lasting and acceptable to both parties. The Sharable Government may be the option for reaching on any agreement. In this connection, Pakistan’s role is crucial and will definitely bear fruit in bringing peace to the region.
Abdul Rahman Malik is a Policy Researcher, Governance Specialist and Development Sector Professional having worked for Asian Development Bank and other National and International Development Organizations. The views expressed in this article are author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Global Village Space.