WASHINGTON: Pakistan is making a "sincere effort" towards Afghan peace and it wants to make the best use of the "new environment" by aiding a negotiated political settlement to the conflict in the neighboring country, US Special Representative Dan Feldman said.
"I do think that there is a sincere effort being made by Pakistan at this point to take advantage of this new environment and a recognition that long-term stability on their border is in their interest and that they have a role to play in trying to ensure that there is a peaceful resolution to this process," Feldman, who is special US envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, said.
Feldman, who has years of experience on implementing US policy toward the region, was briefing reporters along with Larry Sampler, USAID Assistant to the Administrator for the Office of Pakistan and Afghanistan, on the new Afghan leaders' visit to Washington this week.
During their visit to Washington, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah discussed the future of his country with President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense secretary Ashton Carter in view of the multiple transitions leading to 2016-end withdrawal of American forces. One of the sessions at Camp David talks led by Secretary Kerry and the Afghan leaders focused on regional cooperation and reconciliation.
Speaking at Washington's Foreign Press Center, Feldman brushed aside a journalist's suggestion that some of Ghani's remarks appeared to imply a criticism of Pakistan.
In response, Feldman cited his recent meetings with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Army Chief General Raheel Sharif as well as with President Ghani and Dr. Abdullah, emphasizing that "we're all committed to trying to build the environment that would be conducive to this."
President Ghani, he said, has taken a "very pragmatic and strategic approach here and has helped to significantly change the dynamic in terms of the environment that would produce this over the course of just the last six or seven months in a way that wasn't possible, seemingly, before then."
Feldman said regional partners including China, and the Gulf countries have also espoused support for a reconciliation process in Afghanistan. He said, the US remains in touch with India as well. "I think that there's a common and broad desire to see some sort of political discussions and negotiated settlement occur if that is feasible. And so there's certainly skepticism on some parts that it is feasible, but I think there is a fairly consistent desire to at least see if it's possible." he replied, when asked specifically if India supports the Afghan reconciliation.
The US envoy also applauded Islamabad's ongoing military drive to clear tribal areas of militants.
In the changed regional climate, Dan particularly referred to the narrative and national response to December 16, 2014 terrorist attack on Army Public School in Peshawar, with a "description of the Peshawar massacres as Pakistan's 9/11."
"I think the manner in which it galvanized a national consensus against all forms of extremism has also fed into the commitment to try to address these forms of extremism and try to use their leverage to bring about a peaceful resolution to Afghanistan's long-term conflict."
"So we'll have to see what occurs, but in my conversations with civilian and military and intelligence leadership in Pakistan, I think that there is an opportunity here that hasn't been here in the past. And hopefully we can all " hopefully the appropriate parties can capitalize on it. Because we've long said that the conflict in Afghanistan won't be ended only through military means, but has to be done through some sort of negotiated political settlement," he said.
The American diplomat also praised President Ghani for recognizing the importance of engaging with his neighbors and particularly with Pakistan on trying to bring to finally realize the goal of having a reconciliation process that would entail the Taliban senior leadership meeting directly with the Afghan Government.
"That's a goal that we all are still striving to create the environment to be most conducive for. We've laid out our own, as we term them, redlines for when a reconciliation process that we could support, which have been very consistent over the course of the last five or six years, whereby the outcomes of it we would "we could support it if the outcomes of it included the Taliban breaking from al-Qaida, renouncing violence, and embracing the Afghan constitution, including the rights of women and minorities."
"I think these initial conversations with Pakistani civilian and military and intelligence leadership have been very important. The Pakistanis are in turn seeking to be responsive and to try to also create the sort of environment that would be most conducive for some sort of reconciliation process. We'll see where that goes. But it's something that we're obviously very supportive of, and we want to ensure that we continue to do all that we can to create that environment.Because we've long said that the path to greatest stability and sustainability in the region is through some sort of negotiated settlement between the Afghan Government and the Taliban senior leadership."
On Pakistani efforts to wipe out militants from the tribal areas, he said the US credits the Pakistani government and the military for the North Waziristan offensive and for all efforts to establish their sovereignty throughout Pakistan.
Feldman also welcomed Pakistan's appreciation that Afghanistan had detained six members of those responsible for the Peshawar attack in Afghanistan.
"And hopefully a growing relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan in the interest of eliminating safe havens on both sides of the border, and that gets at the common scourge of extremism in both countries."
Larry Sampler told journalists of Washington's commitment to support Afghanistan"s economic development, referring to a $ 800 million program over five years that's intended to provide significant lift to Kabul as they try to set a new course.
He also recounted steps like increasing the number of Fulbright scholarships by 50 percent. USAID will also in addition to that be adding $18 million in scholarships for women that are intended to be used at Afghan universities without necessitating the international travel that some women in Afghanistan were just not able or willing to do.
Feldman also responded to a question about the threat the IS or Daesh poses to the region.
"It's obviously an issue that we are all watching very closely, of great concern to the Afghan Government, as President Ghani mentioned; of great concern to the Pakistani Government."
"So we are all seeking to get as much accurate information as possible about the nature of the threat, how it's growing, in what way, and then to work together to try to determine the best way to respond to it. So given that it's such a relatively new phenomenon, we're still assessing what the threat is and how we can best address it."
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