As always Pakistan again went out of its way to help its Afghan brethren after the recent take over by the Taliban. Pakistan called for unfreezing Afghan assets, pledged $28m in Afghanistan humanitarian support and donated 50,000 tonnes of wheat to ward off the imminent food crisis. On the diplomatic front, Pakistan called for support for Afghan people at SCO summit, held a meeting of the intelligence heads from Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries, and hosted the OIC’s Council of Foreign Ministers to help bridge the gap between Taliban and the world. A number of high-level officials from Pakistan have visited Afghanistan, the latest delegation led by NSA Moeed Yusuf returned on Sunday after holding ‘productive meetings’ with Afghan leadership.
Despite the bonhomie displayed by Pakistan, the Taliban government has still to resolve some of Pakistan’s serious concerns. The ongoing work on the border fencing had to be stopped after resistance by Taliban fighters. The Taliban government has yet not acknowledged the Durand Line as international border with Pakistan. Despite Afghanistan and Pakistan having emphasised their commitment to ensuring peace and stability in both countries, there is still no end to terrorists using the Afghan territory as a launching pad for attacks inside Pakistan. We are told that the Taliban administration has forced the Baloch terror groups to flee Afghanistan. Other groups like TTP, al-Qaeda and IS however continue to launch attacks and have in fact extended their range from bordering Balochistan and tribal districts of KP to Islamabad and Lahore.
Pakistan hopes to resolve the crucial issue through indirect means like deepening the economic engagement through early completion of major connectivity projects like CASA- 1000, TAPI, and the Trans-Afghan Rail project. An agreement has also been reached to establish a national-level coordination mechanism for enhancing facilitation at border crossing points and to expedite the ongoing negotiations to conclude a new trade agreement.
Terrorist attacks inside Pakistan’s provinces neighbouring Afghanistan meanwhile continue to take place. The day Moeed Yusuf led delegation returned, a Christian priest was shot dead and another injured in Peshawar while two cops were among 17 injured in grenade attack in Balochistan’s Jaffarabad. Unless the Afghan Taliban govt reins in the terrorist groups operating from its territory incidents of the sort can delay the implementation of the long-term projects.
