THE more significant news from the NATO summit in Warsaw for Afghanistan and Pakistan has been overshadowed by predictably aggressive comments by President Ashraf Ghani and a bristling response by the Foreign Office here. Mr Ghani’s criticism was likely an attempt to keep the pressure on Pakistan and deflect from the hard questions being asked of his own government’s performance.Sensibly, the Foreign Office’s response emphasised the need for cooperative solutions, and other institutions have not sparked a new war of words between the two countries.The more important news from the Warsaw summit, however, was the pledge by Nato countries to continue partially funding the Afghan security forces and maintain foreign troops in Afghanistan to advise and train Afghan security personnel.
The Afghan military and police are now funded through 2020 and the Nato troop commitment is a signal that the world is not looking to cut and run from Afghanistan, but committed to stabilising the country and making it peaceful.The Nato decision follows President Barack Obama’s announcement that he will not be further slashing US troops numbers in Afghanistan — a sensible decision in the circumstances.For Pakistan, the outside world’s fresh commitments to Afghanistan should come as good news.While the security establishment has always been wary of a long-term, massive, foreign military presence in Afghanistan, there is also recognition that the Afghan state and security forces are not in a position to prevent state collapse, nor can they by themselves ensure that the Afghan Taliban do not emerge as a dominant power inside Afghanistan.Despite international and Kabul’s misgivings about Pakistan’s intentions, it is not in our interests for the Afghan state to collapse or the Taliban to take over.What the Nato and US commitments amount to is a fresh opportunity for Pakistan to facilitate a dialogue between the warring Afghan sides.
A fully funded Afghan security network means the Taliban have to once again adjust their expectations: with foreign troops commitments and money until at least 2020, the Afghan state is unlikely to be defeated by the Taliban on the battlefield.Mr Ghani and his government ought to recognise the opportunity: there is a new Taliban leadership and Pakistan is still publicly committed to facilitating dialogue and wants the Afghan government to be stable. Now is the time for conversation, not harsh words.
http://www.dawn.com/news/1270248/nato-support-for-kabul
Comments are closed.