By
Sajjad Shaukat
On December 9, this
year, the fifth ministerial Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process Conference was held
in Islamabad in which high-level representatives of supporting regional and
international organizations from over 30 countries including especially the US,
China and Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj participated. Pakistan’s Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani addressed the opening
ceremony of the conference.
The participants
realized the importance of the conference as an important regional platform
aimed at a stable, peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan which was not only in
its own interest, but also vital to peace, stability and prosperity of the
‘Heart of Asia’ region as a whole—it was collective responsibility to help Afghanistan
in combating the challenges it faced.
In the joint
declaration, the participants reaffirmed the respect for each other’s
sovereignty, territorial integrity and reiterated their commitment to refrain
from the threat or use of force against each other’s territorial integrity and
reaffirmed the objectives, aimed at promoting regional peace and prosperity and
enhanced cooperation for countering security threats collectively.
And a series of meetings
were held in Islamabad between Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and the US to
develop an understanding of the earliest possible resumption of stalled talks
between the Afghan government and Taliban. A trilateral meeting was also held
among Pakistan, Afghanistan and the America. Besides, President Ashraf Ghani,
Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj also met Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. In
a brief news conference, she said that India and Pakistan have decided to
restart composite dialogue. According to the joint statement, all issues
like Kashmir, Sir Creek, Wullar Barrage, economic and commercial
cooperation, counterterrorism, anti-narcotic efforts etc. will be discussed in
the comprehensive dialogue.
Chief of Army Staff,
Gen. Raheel Sharif also met Afghan President Ghani and ensured full support for
peace and stability in Afghanistan. He stated, ‘We are committed to work
together with Afghanistan on the basis of mutual interest and respect…both the
countries should pursue a strategic relationship that could enhance the
security and mutual prosperity.”
President Ghani vowed to
work together to eliminate the common threat of terrorism, which Pakistan and
Afghanistan are facing, and emphasized on the need to enhance bilateral
relations between the two countries. Earlier, both the countries acknowledged
the need to undertake confidence-building measures to engender trust and agreed
to enhance the continuing Pak-Afghan security cooperation.
However, much hope has
been created for regional peace after the Heart of Asia Conference. Question
arises about the implementation of the joint declaration. In this regard, there
are a number of obstacles.
In this respect, in the
recent past, cordial relations were established between Pakistan and
Afghanistan when Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had realized that Afghanistan and
Pakistan were facing similar challenges of terrorism and would combat this
threat collectively. They also set up a mechanism to check infiltration of the
militants through Pak-Afghan porous border.
While, it is misfortune
that on direction of New Delhi and like the former regime of Afghan President
Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan’s present rulers have also started accusing Pakistan
of cross-border terrorism. In this context, after hours of the Taliban captured
Kunduz city, on September 28, 2015, during his address to the UNO General
Assembly, Afghanistan’s chief executive Abdullah Abdullah blamed Islamabad for
carrying out cross-border attacks and destabilizing Afghanistan.
Differences exist
between chief executive Abdullah Abdullah and President Ashraf Ghani, as the
former wants cordial relations with New Delhi at the cost of Afghanistan and
the latter prefers Islamabad, because Pak-Afghan stability is interrelated.
It is notable that on
December 10, President Ghani accepted the resignation of Rahmatullah Nabil as
director of the Afghan intelligence agency, National Directorate of Security
(NDS), after developing differences of the spymaster with him over Ghani’s move
to attend the regional conference in Islamabad. In his statement, Nabil said
President Ghani had asked him to relinquish charge of the NDS.
In fact, in collusion
with Afghanistan’s spy agency NDS, Indian secret agency RAW has
well-established its network in Afghanistan, and is fully assisting
cross-border incursions and terror-activities in various regions of Pakistan
through Baloch separatist elements and anti-Pakistan groups like Baluchistan
Liberation Army (BLA), Jundullah (God’s soldiers) and Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan (TTP). In this connection, on September 18, this year, the TTP militants
attacked a Pakistan Air Force camp in Badaber area, Peshawar and martyred 29
people including army personnel. In this regard, Pakistan’s civil and military
sources pointed out that those TTP terrorists came from Afghanistan, having
connections with Indian RAW.
On December 13, 25
people were killed in a bomb explosion in Parachinar, headquarters of Kurram
Agency. RAW was behind this subversive act.
Notably, RAW is making
efforts to weaken Afghanistan, Tibetan regions of China and Pakistan,
especially Balochistan by arranging the subversive activities, promoting
acrimonious sense of dissent, political volatility, sectarian violence and
arousing sentiments of separatism.
It is mentionable that
New Delhi which has already invested billion of dollars in Afghanistan, also
signed a wide-ranging strategic agreement with that country on October 5, 2011.
And, the then President Karzai had also signed another agreement with India to
obtain Indian arms and weapons. While, under the cover of these agreements,
India has further strengthened its grip in Afghanistan. By taking advantage of
lawlessness in Afghanistan, India is up to its usual tirade to foment an environment
by conducting terrorist attacks in that country to prove that Pakistan is
creating trouble for Afghanistan.
Besides, Prime Minister
Sharif and President Ghani also showed their determination that their countries
would cooperate in fighting the threat of ISIS (Daesh). But, RAW agents are
well-penetrated in ISIS and are weakening both Afghanistan and Pakistan through
this terror-outfit.
It is worth-motioning
that Gen. Raheel accompanied by the DG of ISI went to Kabul on December 17,
2014. During his meeting with his Afghan counterpart, President Ashraf Ghani
and the ISAF commander, he presented the evidence of linkage between the
massacre of children at Peshawar school and TTP sanctuaries in Afghanistan. He
also asked about action against the TTP and handing over of its chief Mullah
Fazlullah to Pakistan.
Nevertheless, Indian
desperation in Afghanistan is increasing in the backdrop of growing engagements
of Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and US. Therefore, by arranging terror-assaults
in Pakistan and Afghanistan, India is also thwarting the peace process between
the Afghan officials and representatives of Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan,
which started in Murree, Pakistan, on July 8, 2015 through a meeting, hosted by
Islamabad, and in it, Chinese and American representatives, also participated.
While, the US, China and Pakistan are jointly working to facilitate the process
so as to bring peace both in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the whole region.
Moreover, New Delhi is
also trying to sabotage the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and is
targeting growing Pak-China-Afghanistan relations.
Furthermore, on the
instruction of the Indian leader of the fundamentalist party BJP and Prime
Minister Narendra Modi, Indian forces have accelerated unprovoked shelling
across the Line of Control and Working Boundary, while creating war-like
situation between Pakistan and India.
Meanwhile, Pakistan
raised the question of Indian cross-border terrorism and RAW involvement in
Pakistan at the UNO forum, with strong evidence in light of open statements of
Indian defence minister and prime minister who recently confirmed assistance to
anti-Pakistan elements including separation of East Pakistan. Islamabad also
raised the issues of Indian cross-border shelling and human rights violations
in the Indian occupied Kashmir.
It is of particular
attention that waging a prolonged war in Afghanistan, the US and other NATO
countries have realized that after the withdrawal of foreign troops,
Afghanistan would be thrown in an era of uncertainly and civil war. They
realize the fact that there is a co-relationship of terrorism or stability in
Pakistan and Afghanistan. Therefore, US-led developed nations which also spent
billions of dollars for the development of Afghanistan have repeatedly agreed
that without Islamabad’s help, stability cannot be achieved there.
Unfortunately, India does not intend to see peace in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Hence, India is undermining Pak-Afghan stability by creating unrest, and by
sabotaging their cordial relations.
So, the US-led developed
countries must also show realistic approach by realizing that unlike India,
Pakistan shares common geographical, historical, religious and cultural bonds
with Afghanistan, while Pak-Afghan stability is inter-related, which is
essential for their global and regional interests. Especially, America must
abandon its faulty strategy in this region and double standard, and must check
Indian secret strategy against Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, America, Russia and
other Asian countries. Otherwise, hope created for regional stability at the
Heart of Asia Conference will fail, as in order to obtain its cover aims, India
has been destabilizing South Asian security which is equally essential for
American and other major powers’ global interests.
Sajjad Shaukat writes on
international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants,
Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations
Email:
sajjad_logic@yahoo.com
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