The two day international conference on Afghanistan in Islamabad
The two day international conference on “Evolving Situation in Afghanistan: Role of Major Powers and Regional Countries” was organized by Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI) in collaboration with “Hanns Seidel Foundation” (HSF) on May 18-19, 2016 in Islamabad.
Experts and representatives of the research centers from Afghanistan, Pakistan, the United States, China, Turkey, Iran, Russia and some other countries, and some senior Pakistani officials such as Pakistani National Security Advisor Nasser Janjua and the first secretary of Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ezaz Chaudhary had also participated in the conference.
The Director General of the Center for Strategic and Regional Studies (CSRS) Dr. Abdul Baqi Amin and the Afghan political analyst Haroon Mir had officially participated in the conference on behalf of Afghanistan.
The conference had four sessions; the first session was regarding an overview of Afghanistan’s situation. The second session was appropriated to the South Asia’s security concerns in Afghanistan. The third session was about the stakes and role of states assisting peace in Afghanistan (Russia, the US and China). While, the fourth session was about the transnational security problems and neighboring regions.
The chairman of CSRS Dr. Abdul Baqi Amin presented his paper on “Security in Afghanistan; Challenges and Solutions” in the conference.
Dr. Abdul Baqi Amin spoke about the security situation in Afghanistan and the impacts and reasons behind the insecurity in Afghanistan. He said that ‘instability and insecurity in Afghanistan has put deep impacts on living system in Afghanistan and the continuance of this situation has paved the way for other issues to rise up in the region’.
He pointed out, ideological and political disagreements, foreign intervention, and some other factors as the main reasons behind the insecurity in Afghanistan.
Mr. Amin added that the impacts of insecurity in Afghanistan are not within its borders but it also threatens the security of the countries in the region as well. He said that stability in Afghanistan is beneficial for the countries in the region and that these countries must play a positive role in the Afghan issue.
Indicating the failure of the Afghan peace efforts, Dr. Abdul Baqi Amin said that misinterpretation of peace, relying on other countries to maintain peace, the lack of an impartial mediator group, Pakistan’s unstable and negative stance about the Afghan issue, and the lack of the United States’ willingness for peace in Afghanistan are the main reasons behind the failure of the Afghan peace process in the past and present.
According to him, Afghans are tired off war and now it is now the most appropriate time for the peace than anytime; but establishing a mediator party and a grantee axis for peace process and sincere support from within in Afghanistan, the region and the world the necessities of this process.
The end