Pakhtuns convince Ghani to meet Nawaz

[The Vicious Kind]

Compare the ANSF with Iraqi army which had much better equipments and they literally run away from the fight, so considering all the caveats I say the ASNF and Afghanistan has done better, don't you agree ?

Yes ANSF is no doubt much better than the Iraqi Army and even without an Airforce unlike the Iraqi Army, ANSF has stood its ground in many districts. However, i am afraid its not strong enough to completely eliminate taliban threat, that kind of a capability building will take 5-6 more years. Now there seems to be a new enemy in town. ISIS is taking ground in Kunar, recently Al Jazeera aired a new documentry about it, its called "ISIS and the Taliban".

So the best logical solution right now is peace talks with the taliban. Now after the incident in Kunduz, P.M Ghani is under extreme pressure. It must be noted the P.M Ghani took a huge risk with the peace talks. So we owe it to him, that we re-initiate the talks once again. Now the Taliban are ready, this trip by Pakistani Pashtun leaders was meant to convince him once again.
Taliban nominate Imran, Sami among others to mediate peace talks
Taliban nominate Imran, Sami among others to mediate peace talks - - DAWN.COM

 

[Sabawoon_Noorzai]

Beraderim @Sabawoon_Noorzai, it seem your "Lar brothers" during their consultations on issues of mutual interests accidentally convinced Aqa Ghani to meet Nawaz Sharif sab ;-) ... do enjoy

Article here, excerpts below:

KABUL - Pakistani Pakhtun leaders have succeeded in convincing Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to accept the invitation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to a meeting, an official revealed yesterday.

...

A source close to the Afghan government revealed Sharif was trying to meet Ghani during an upcoming international conference in Paris, the capital of France.

...

The official, wishing anonymity, disclosed Ghani had rejected the invitation from Sharif on the sidelines of the Paris conference.

Nawaz is believed to have urged British Prime Minister David Cameron to convince Ghani to meet him, but the Afghan leader had rejected the suggestion.
Consequently, Pakistan sent the Pakhtun leaders to Kabul to reconcile Ghani.

The nationalist leaders visiting Kabul include Awami National Party President Asfandyar Wali Khan, ANP central leader Afrasiab Khattak and some others.

Alas Ghani accepted request for a meet.

I will surely enjoy - afterall the eagerness. I must make it clear though im a pessimist when it comes to Afg-Pak relations. Chinese first, then the Turkish envoy and alas through ones with Lar aw Bar slogan. All eyes on Nawaz. Oh bloody hell Nawaz even urged Cameron. Your point?

I would think another futile meeting which would go the way of previous ones. There exist no common ground between the two from where progress can be made.

Pakistan remains to be a safe haven and supporter of Taliban.

 

[django]

Thank you!I have followed your posts and we mostly agree that a pan-region development is the need of the day, backstabbing and thriving alone won't work , we need to thrive as a region.

My point of view about the changed Afghanistan : In summary.

In my opinion most the most important change has been Education, Afghans are most educated now then their entire history, some estimates put literacy rate around 65 percent, up from around 30 a decade or so ago, those millions of kids who were enrolled into schools are now adults and have some sort of education, access to Television, Social media and they understand that there is more to life than killing each other. If you ask them do you want the return of the Taliban or do you want the current government with its all its flaws majority will opt for the later of course.

There is a strong civil society, that is very active and keeps the government accountable, and then of course there is a very vibrant media that criticizes the government for its ills and the government complies.

Furthermore thousands of young Afghans who went abroad and studied there and have returned, they brought not only new skills but also understanding of the dynamics of the world. For instance I studied abroad, with a bachelor from one European country and a Masters from another, I am back to Afghanistan because I see that there is future in this country, and I am as competitive as my peers from the neighboring countries.


These are fundamental changes that have happened in Afghanistan in the last so many years and those supporting the Talis fail to understand that Afghanistan has changed and their money is on the wrong horse.


PS : Of course there are lots of challenges, no doubt about it but I see more positives than negatives.



Thank you for your post, I just put few lines on how Afghanistan changed above, hope this helps.



As I pointed out earlier of course there are challenges, no doubt about it. A year ago there were over 100 thousand American and Nato boots on the ground who were doing the main fighting. The ANSF took charge this year and kept the enemy at bay, the Talis, The Haqqanies and of course the ISIS, while most of the American boots are gone. Next year the ANSF will do much better when the Air Support gets better, they will learn from their mistakes.

Compare the ANSF with Iraqi army which had much better equipments and they literally run away from the fight, so considering all the caveats I say the ASNF and Afghanistan has done better, don't you agree ?

"Kept them at bay", are you being serious, go ask the folks who were tasked with the defence of Kunduz, truth be told they were every bit as incompetent as the Iraqis whilst the Talibs managed to capture the city in a show off bravado and made a tactical retreat due to the impending airstrikes of USAF, on their own the ANA achieved nothing, they have extremely poor logistical capabilities and no airforce to speak of. I suspect as soon as the US aid dries up they will collapse as did their predecessors who frankly speaking were far more capable yet when the rubles stopped coming they fell to pieces.kudos

 

[The Vicious Kind]

Alas Ghani accepted request for a meet.

I will surely enjoy - afterall the eagerness. I must make it clear though im a pessimist when it comes to Afg-Pak relations. Chinese first, then the Turkish envoy and alas through ones with Lar aw Bar slogan. All eyes on Nawaz. Oh bloody hell Nawaz even urged Cameron. Your point?

I would think another futile meeting which would go the way of previous ones. There exist no common ground between the two from where progress can be made.

Pakistan remains to be a safe haven and supporter of Taliban.

Incorrect ! here is the ISAF commander acknowledging our efforts against the Taliban.

“Senior Pakistani military officers have repeatedly declared that they can no longer discriminate between ‘good and bad’ terrorists. They appear to be taking meaningful actions to back up their words. Pakistan’s military operations have displaced foreign fighters into eastern and northern Afghanistan."
Gen Campbell told the US Senate Armed Services Committee in his written testimony on Tuesday.

You had no other choice, you had to accept the peace proposal. It wasnt your decision to make. The Americans wanted peace talks and you will have to agree. You will do what the American tell you to.

Obama thanked Sharif for Pakistan's role in negotiations and stressed that the U.S. believed an "Afghan-led" reconciliation process is "the only way to bring lasting stability and peace to Afghanistan and the region," according to a White House statement released after the meeting.

 

[pakistani342]

Alas Ghani accepted request for a meet.

I will surely enjoy - afterall the eagerness. I must make it clear though im a pessimist when it comes to Afg-Pak relations. Chinese first, then the Turkish envoy and alas through ones with Lar aw Bar slogan. All eyes on Nawaz. Oh bloody hell Nawaz even urged Cameron.

Your point?

I think your original point did not have anything to do with the difficulty in convincing aqa Ghani or how desperate the evil Pakistanis are to get an audience with his excellency.

I think your point was dismissive of the fact that your Lar brothers might be bearing a message from one of the Sharifs. Let me quote ;-) :

Absolutely nonsense!

Just part of a regular visits by our Lar brothers and consultations on issues of mutual interests. The visit being on behest of Pakistani government is a nonsense and would not be welcomed. In fact, among them the important ones of these leaders and the Afghan government are on the same page.

I would think another futile meeting which would go the way of previous ones. There exist no common ground between the two from where progress can be made.

On the futility of the enterprise -- yes it is a waste of money.

Could Pakistan just be using it as a stalling tactic or for Western consumption (?) -- my guess: no the Pakistani establishment isn't that smart or competent.

Pakistan remains to be a safe haven and supporter of Taliban.

Yes Pakistan remains a safe have, and Afghanistan remains a large poppy field, they both remain kleptocracies, etc. etc. etc.

 

[Indus Pakistan]

Thank you

No problem. I certainly appreciate your taking time to explain the situation inside Afghanistan. I can see how education can bring about profound change in your society. Maybe it is time for Pakistan to have fresh look at it's Afghan policy. I must confess to you that I have been rather partial to Afghan Taliban despite them being poles apart from my personal outlook on life.

I did so because I thought they had wide support in particular the Pashtun population inside Afghanistan. Further that they would in time end up prevailing as they enjoyed significant traction within the country. On that basis I thought they were the best least worst option available.

However if indeed if what you say has happened and that you have what appears to be the making of stable state then I am very pleased for your country. You have seen enough suffering over the last three decades.

I only hope there is more who think like you inside Afghanistan. The reality that Kabul and Islamabad need to accept is we share the same space. We are going to have to cooperate in the long term. I would love to see Afghanistan and Pakistan or Iran get on like France, Germany and UK. I am sure you know about their tortured history.

All the best.

 

[Zarvan]

Atleast Nawaz Sharif seems to follow pragmatic policy by keepting communications open with Ashraf Ghani. While Men in Uniform follow the policies of encoraging Talibans even after 2001 and 2015 events. Some people never learn.

O hello you have no idea who is running the policy. Even this move iniated by Nawaz was done on orders from GHQ. You first need to learn who is calling the shots here.