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Nawaz Sharif’s visit to Kabul underscores readiness to do business with neighbor
ENLARGE
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, right, reaches out to Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after a news conference in Kabul Tuesday. PHOTO: REUTERS
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif delivered an unusually strong condemnation of the Afghan Taliban on a visit to Kabul, signaling a continued rapprochement between the two countries.
Mr. Sharif’s visit to Kabul on Tuesday—his first since Afghan President Ashraf Ghani came to office in September—underscored Islamabad’s readiness to do business with the government in Kabul. Mr. Sharif was accompanied by Pakistan’s top military and intelligence officials: army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif and Lt. Gen.Rizwan Akhtar, the director of the country’s spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence.
Since taking office, Mr. Ghani has made a concerted effort to mend ties with Pakistan in the hopes that Islamabad could persuade the Afghan Taliban to sit at the negotiating table with his government. Pakistan’s backing is widely seen as a prerequisite for an effective peace deal. The leadership of the Afghan Taliban is based in Pakistan, and its fighters have long used lawless border areas between the two countries as a recruiting and operational base.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Ghani said Pakistan and Afghanistan “must work together to bring the peace, stability and welfare that both nations desire.”
Mr. Sharif reaffirmed Pakistan’s support to an Afghan reconciliation process and said he assured the Afghan president he would make all possible efforts to achieve this goal.
The Pakistani prime minister on Tuesday used strong language to condemn the Afghan Taliban—which he unusually referred to by name—and said Pakistan would go after the militants in their sanctuaries.
“Afghanistan’s enemies will be treated as Pakistan’s enemies and Pakistan’s enemies will be treated as Afghanistan’s enemies,” said Mr. Sharif.
“We strongly condemn increase in violence and Operation Azm offensive by Afghan Taliban. Continuation of such offensive and attacks will be construed as terrorist acts and we condemn such attacks in strongest terms.
The visit coincides with new optimism among Afghans that the stalled peace process, aimed at ending the 13-year war, could resume. During informal talks with Afghan officials and civic activists earlier this month, representatives of the Taliban showed new willingness to reach a political solution to the Afghan conflict. Participants from both sides said they are hopeful the discussions could eventually lead to formal peace talks.
But the war in Afghanistan doesn’t appear likely to end soon. The Taliban are still refusing to officially talk to the Kabul government, and are pressing a particularly aggressive offensive that is testing Afghan forces, who are now fighting with only minimal support from their American allies.
Pakistan acknowledges it has influence over the movement’s leadership, but says it doesn’t control the insurgency. And while ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan have improved, sticking points remain.
One Pakistani security official said Kabul’s demands are contradictory. “They tell us to hit the Taliban and also influence them to come to sit on the negotiating table. You can either kill a man or talk to him,” he said.
And Islamabad is concerned that Afghanistan’s spy agency—the National Directorate of Security—is covertly supporting the Pakistani Taliban and sheltering the movement’s leader, MullahFazlullah. Kabul has rejected these allegations, saying it fights all militants.
The Pakistani Taliban are operationally independent from and more extreme than the Afghan Taliban, though the two groups sometimes cooperate.
This is Mr. Sharif’s second visit to Afghanistan since taking office in 2013. His prior visit was in November that year, when PresidentHamid Karzai was in office. During that visit, he wasn’t accompanied by the country’s military leadership.
There have been several high-profile bilateral visits by officials from both sides in recent months. President Ghani visited Pakistan last November, a trip that was seen as marking a new beginning in bilateral ties. During that trip Mr. Ghani visited Pakistan’s military headquarters, an unprecedented move for an Afghan leader. Gen. Sharif led a military delegation to Kabul in February this year, his third since taking command of the Pakistan Army.
Pakistani Leader Rebukes Taliban in Show of Afghan Support - WSJ
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, right, reaches out to Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after a news conference in Kabul Tuesday. PHOTO: REUTERS
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif delivered an unusually strong condemnation of the Afghan Taliban on a visit to Kabul, signaling a continued rapprochement between the two countries.
Mr. Sharif’s visit to Kabul on Tuesday—his first since Afghan President Ashraf Ghani came to office in September—underscored Islamabad’s readiness to do business with the government in Kabul. Mr. Sharif was accompanied by Pakistan’s top military and intelligence officials: army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif and Lt. Gen.Rizwan Akhtar, the director of the country’s spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence.
Since taking office, Mr. Ghani has made a concerted effort to mend ties with Pakistan in the hopes that Islamabad could persuade the Afghan Taliban to sit at the negotiating table with his government. Pakistan’s backing is widely seen as a prerequisite for an effective peace deal. The leadership of the Afghan Taliban is based in Pakistan, and its fighters have long used lawless border areas between the two countries as a recruiting and operational base.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Ghani said Pakistan and Afghanistan “must work together to bring the peace, stability and welfare that both nations desire.”
Mr. Sharif reaffirmed Pakistan’s support to an Afghan reconciliation process and said he assured the Afghan president he would make all possible efforts to achieve this goal.
The Pakistani prime minister on Tuesday used strong language to condemn the Afghan Taliban—which he unusually referred to by name—and said Pakistan would go after the militants in their sanctuaries.
“Afghanistan’s enemies will be treated as Pakistan’s enemies and Pakistan’s enemies will be treated as Afghanistan’s enemies,” said Mr. Sharif.
“We strongly condemn increase in violence and Operation Azm offensive by Afghan Taliban. Continuation of such offensive and attacks will be construed as terrorist acts and we condemn such attacks in strongest terms.
The visit coincides with new optimism among Afghans that the stalled peace process, aimed at ending the 13-year war, could resume. During informal talks with Afghan officials and civic activists earlier this month, representatives of the Taliban showed new willingness to reach a political solution to the Afghan conflict. Participants from both sides said they are hopeful the discussions could eventually lead to formal peace talks.
But the war in Afghanistan doesn’t appear likely to end soon. The Taliban are still refusing to officially talk to the Kabul government, and are pressing a particularly aggressive offensive that is testing Afghan forces, who are now fighting with only minimal support from their American allies.
Pakistan acknowledges it has influence over the movement’s leadership, but says it doesn’t control the insurgency. And while ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan have improved, sticking points remain.
One Pakistani security official said Kabul’s demands are contradictory. “They tell us to hit the Taliban and also influence them to come to sit on the negotiating table. You can either kill a man or talk to him,” he said.
And Islamabad is concerned that Afghanistan’s spy agency—the National Directorate of Security—is covertly supporting the Pakistani Taliban and sheltering the movement’s leader, MullahFazlullah. Kabul has rejected these allegations, saying it fights all militants.
The Pakistani Taliban are operationally independent from and more extreme than the Afghan Taliban, though the two groups sometimes cooperate.
This is Mr. Sharif’s second visit to Afghanistan since taking office in 2013. His prior visit was in November that year, when PresidentHamid Karzai was in office. During that visit, he wasn’t accompanied by the country’s military leadership.
There have been several high-profile bilateral visits by officials from both sides in recent months. President Ghani visited Pakistan last November, a trip that was seen as marking a new beginning in bilateral ties. During that trip Mr. Ghani visited Pakistan’s military headquarters, an unprecedented move for an Afghan leader. Gen. Sharif led a military delegation to Kabul in February this year, his third since taking command of the Pakistan Army.
Pakistani Leader Rebukes Taliban in Show of Afghan Support - WSJ
