IMRAN KHAN’S VISIT OF KABUL; GOALS AND OUTCOMES
On November 2019, Prime Minister Imran khan visited Kabul upon official invitation of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. He was accompanied by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Pakistan’s special representative for Afghanistan Sadiq khan and ISI chief Faiz Hamid.
The visit took place as there has been an uptick in violence at national level, while no sign of an agreement between Afghan government and the Afghan Taliban in the intra-Afghan dialogue.
In this article, CSRS analyzes the impacts of Imran Khan’s Visit on bilateral relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan and Afghan peace process.
Purpose of the Visit
Imran khan visited Kabul while violence has escalated at national level, and roadside bombs are targeting dozens of Afghan civilian lives every day. On the other hand, negotiations parties in Doha are yet to agree on a framework for intra-Afghan negotiations.
While the security crisis persists, Khan had a one-day visit of Afghanistan upon an official invitation of President Ashraf Ghani. Before that, Razzaq Dawood, Imran Khan’s advisor of commerce and investment has discussed wide range of issues pertaining to bilateral trade facilitation and economic integration with senior Afghan officials during his three-day visit.
As stated in Khan Agenda that the focus of visit was facilitation of Afghan peace talks with the Taliban, as well as extension of bilateral relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan in terms of political, security, and economic integration. As Pakistan has been struggling with serious economic problems, it is essential to increase their export to Afghanistan, which can be facilitated through this official visit. On the other hand, Pakistan is worried about India influence in Afghanistan. In his recent interview SHPAIGL, Pakistan PM Imran Khan said that he has shared his concern with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and the Chairman High Council for National Reconciliation Dr. Abdullah Abdullah about India’s influence in Afghanistan and ask them to protect Pakistan’s interests in Afghanistan by not allowing India to use Afghan soil against his country.
Pakistan side tried to get an official promise on that from Afghan official which was later jointly issued as a ‘Shared vision between Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and Islamic Republic of Pakistan to support peace and stability in both countries and the wider region’. The jointly issued document stated that any alignment of Afghanistan with other nations should create opportunity for the two countries that ensures interests and prevents any threat.
Afghan Peace the Main Agenda
Currently, the Afghan government and the Taliban are working on framework for peace process in Doha. On the other side, violence has been escalating absence of ceasefire has raised concerns among public. Not only that, recent attacks carried out by ISIS also threaten the peace negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
From the beginning of intra-Afghan peace negotiation, the Afghan government is persistently demanding a comprehensive ceasefire. However, the Taliban side are yet to agree ceasefire, while its absence has paved way for further violence in different forms, targeting only Afghan civilians. The increased violence has helped Afghan government to attract international attention, which could be used as manse pressure on Taliban to push for ceasefire. Few months ago, President Ghani shared his concern on increasing violence in Afghanistan with Imran Khan though a telephonic conversation and asked him to use Pakistan influence over Taliban for reduction of violence.
On his visit, Mr. Khan asked from Afghan officials to let him know if there is anything that Pakistan could do in elimination of any obstacles facing Afghan peace process. Khan expressed his confidence that Pakistan will further contribute to bring peace to Afghanistan. Even though Khan’s promises can strengthen the relationship between the two countries but will hardly pave the way for comprehensive ceasefire as Taliban are reluctant to do so.
During Ashraf Ghani’s first visit to Pakistan in 2014, Pakistani officials strongly promised to contribute to Afghan peace. Later however, the Taliban increased their attacks on Afghan forces and even after a few years, there is no remarkable development in intra-Afghan negotiations. After Imran Khan’s statements about his support from the Afghan peace, level of violence kept rising. Two days after his recent visit of Kabul, the city witnessed rocket attacks causing casualties to civilians. In addition, 17 civilians were killed and wounded on 24th November, 2020, due to a bomb blast in Bamyan Province.
Outcomes
In addition to its effects on the Afghan peace, the bilateral agreement between both countries can facilitate improvement in bilateral relations. The agreement states that officials of both countries will increase visits in order to sustain constructive relations. In this regard, Prime minister Imran Khan invited President Ghani to visit Pakistan, which will take place in the first three months of the next year. Such actions can reconstruct the bilateral relations between both countries.
Additionally, coordination between the intelligence agencies of both countries so that the enemies of peace can be prevented through mutual cooperation. Also, in order to resolve immigrants’ related matters according to interests of both countries, several meetings will be conducted between officials of both countries in January, 2021. Furthermore, Although US Special Representative Zalmai Khalilzad has expressed about establishing a special fund in south and middle Asia in order to attract investments for Pakistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, but considering the current circumstances, it seems improbable. However, its occurrence can help the peace process and can consequently have a positive impact on the region. Overall, improvement in bilateral links between both countries can not only help the peace process, but can be profitable for economic development of the region. Meanwhile, Pakistan needs stay committed to the bilateral agreement in order to reduce its economic problems.
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