Pakistan attaches hopes to Sartaj Aziz’s Kabul visit

Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, will be travelling to Afghanistan on Sunday with high hopes the trip will help in decreasing the current tension and will revive high level contacts and normal relationship.

The Foreign Ministry says that the Adviser would be meeting senior Afghan officials and call on the President of Afghanistan.

The visit of the Adviser to the PM on National Security and Foreign Affairs to Afghanistan is the first high-level exchange between the two countries after the assumption of office by the present Government.

The leaders of the two countries have already spoken twice to each other. The Prime Minister has extended an invitation to the President of Afghanistan to visit Pakistan. Mr. Sartaj Aziz will be carrying the formal invitation for the visit.

The other objective of the visit is to hold substantive preparations for the Summit-level meeting.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman says the regional situation and issues of peace and stability will also be discussed and that Pakistan side will reiterate its strong commitment to support the peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan.

Pakistan had accepted Karzai’s request to send Sartaj Aziz to Kabul when he spoke to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif via the phone last month. Sharif had invited Karzai to visit Pakistan. Karzai had accepted the invitation but wanted discussion on agenda of his visit to make it successful.

Karzai and his advisers have unleashed a harsh criticism at Pakistan under the pretext of several issues that has increased tensions at a time when their strong relationship is believed to be a key to encourage the Taliban to come to the negotiation table.

Afghan and US American leaders believe that Pakistan can play vital role to convince the Taliban to agree to dialogue to find out a political solution to the Afghan issue ahead of the NATO withdrawal next year.

Concerns about a possible civil war will grow if the Karzai gov’t and the Taliban failed to reach any deal, keeping in view of the bitter past when the Soviet troops withdrew and factional fighting among the Afghan groups killed thousands only in Kabul.

Karzai and his close aides on one hand want Pakistan must play role in the Afghan peace process but on other they level charges against Pakistan through media. Approach of the Afghan leaders has badly damaged the trust between the two countries and Islamabad would be unwilling to act in such a hostile environment.

If Afghan leaders want Pakistan’s peace role they will have to win the trust of Pakistani leaders and will have to stop public accusations.

Now all eyes are on the visit of Sartaj Aziz to Kabul that could pave the way for the restoration of trust and high level contacts. Kabul can use a bilateral forum for any taking up any issue with Islamabad instead using the media for a blame game. This policy of Karzai and his advisers will badly affect bilateral relations and will complicate the elusive peace and reconciliation process.

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Posted by Tahir Khan on Jul 20 2013. Filed under Latest News, National, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.