Pakistan’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar meets Special Representative of Russia for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov. Twitter/
Islamabad: Pakistan, which has been facing daily attacks from Taliban factions on its soil, is now trying to cozy up to the current regime in Afghanistan.
Pakistan’s minister of state for foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar, who met top Taliban leaders in Kabul late last year, has now held one-on-one talks with Russia’s special representative for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov and both leaders discussed “issues related to peace and security of Afghanistan”.
In a release, the foreign affairs ministry of Pakistan said, “Underscoring that a peaceful neighbourhood remained a strategic imperative for Pakistan, the Minister of State (Khar) stressed that Afghanistan, with its location as a bridge between Central and South Asia, was central towards achieving the full potential of socio-economic development and regional connectivity.”
Khar also reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to work with other countries in the region.
“Expressing solidarity with the Afghan people, Khar urged the international community to continue extending assistance and support in order to address urgent humanitarian needs and to provide a sustainable pathway for Afghanistan’s prosperity and development,” Pakistan’s foreign ministry said.
According to a report by VOA, Russia and Pakistan emphasised the need for “practical engagement” with Taliban, but ruled out granting legitimacy to Taliban “for the time being” until Afghanistan addresses international concerns including women’s rights and inclusive governance.
The report quoted sources as saying that the Russian presidential envoy for Afghanistan “advised” Taliban to move toward creating a politically inclusive government and easing curbs on women, otherwise there can be no forward movement on the issue of their legitimacy, nor will Afghanistan get any substantial support from the world.
For the unversed, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has been creating widespread havoc with almost daily attacks against the Pakistan’s security forces, compelling Islamabad to plead before Afghan Taliban to prevent the banned group from using Afghanistan as their safe haven.
Most of the attacks have taken place in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces. Punjab – the heartland of Pakistan – has also been targeted by TTP.
However, Taliban administration of Afghanistan is still adamant to its earlier stance that the only wat to resolve the TTP issue is through dialogue with Pakistan.
At the request of the Afghan Taliban, Pakistan pursued peace talks with TTP. The talks initially produced some results as the group agreed to a ceasefire in return for Pakistan allowing certain TTP members to return home.
However, the ceasefire collapsed after the TTP continued to target security officials, increasing their attacks in recent months.
In the last three months alone, the TTP, which wants to impose Islamic Sharia law across Pakistan, has claimed responsibility for over 150 attacks against the security forces.
The TTP, which wants to impose Islamic Sharia law across Pakistan, has claimed responsibility for more than 150 attacks against the Pakistani security forces in the last three months.
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