As the Afghan war drags on for more than 16 years, the obvious question is not if, but when the parties involved would be ready to seek a negotiated settlement. In a recent major policy shift, President Ashraf Ghani took an important step in that direction by offering unconditional talks to the Taliban. Related developments concerning this country are also encouraging. Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa recently told journalists he was in touch with the Afghan President, and that both of them were trying to bring about a positive change in relations. Last Saturday, National Security Adviser Lieutenant-General Nasser Khan Janjua (retd) went to Kabul at the head of a delegation of civil and military officials on the invitation of his Afghan counterpart, Haneef Atmar.
The visit could not have been more productive. During his day-long stay in the Afghan capital, Janjua called on President Ghani who evinced a strong interest in making a new beginning with this country. He invited Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to Kabul for talks, and proposed preparing a roadmap for a comprehensive engagement with Pakistan so as to carry the relationship forward. "Without each other, we are not complete," averred the Afghan President. More to the point, he also told the visitors "let's not remain prisoners of the past, and let's secure our future with the aim not to win the war but to end it, for which Pakistan should help." Indeed, Pakistan has a major stake in seeing a stable Afghanistan at peace with itself, and hence would be more than willing to offer help. But it has its limitations. It may be in a position to nudge the Taliban to the negotiating table, but it cannot compel them to accept any agreement that they may not like. Further complicating the matters is Washington, which supports Kabul government's talks' offer and at the same time, keeps accusing Pakistan of sheltering the Taliban.
During his recent private trip to the US, PM Abbasi had a meeting with Vice President Mike Pence. According to a White House statement, Pence told Abbasi "Pakistan must do more to address the continued presence of the Taliban, Haqqani network and other terrorist groups operating in their country." Pakistan, of course, denies the Haqqanis or any other Taliban group have sanctuaries on its soil. In fact, some official American sources say more than 43 percent of Afghanistan is either under direct Taliban control or under their influence. That means they do not need to be on this side to launch cross-border attacks against US forces. Apparently, Washington goes on repeating the 'do more' mantra to blame this country for its failure in Afghanistan so as to avoid criticism at home. In any event, it makes little sense to ask Pakistan to fight the Taliban and convince them to talk, too. If it really wants to halt the war rather than keep trying to win it, the US should stop levelling accusations against Pakistan and support President Ghani's efforts, through the Kabul Process as well as the Quadrilateral Group, for a negotiated end to this disastrous war.