The grounds have been established in Kabul for any high-level discussions that are intended to heal increasingly icy ties between the two countries. Afghan President Hamid Karzai responded on Monday with a tepid reaction to Pakistan’s offer to visit Islamabad. On Sunday, pakistan sent its top diplomat to afghanistan in the hopes of providing more support to afghanistan in its negotiations with taliban militants to bring an end to the country’s 12-year civil conflict. sartaj aziz, an advisor on foreign affairs, met with hamid karzai and conducted discussions with afghan foreign minister zalmai rassoul. he also presented karzai with an invitation from the new pakistani prime minister, nawaz sharif, which sharif had previously offered twice over the phone. According to a statement sent by the president’s office on monday, Karzai has “in principle” accepted the offer. However, he said that before a high-ranking team could visit Pakistan, the topic would need to be established, early preparations would need to be undertaken, and a “serious and successful battle against terrorism and the peace process would be at the top of the agenda.” The West believes that having help from Pakistan is very necessary in order to establish a stable peace in Afghanistan. However, ties between the neighboring nations are strained due to mutual mistrust and allegations about the Taliban and other forms of Islamist extremism, which affects both countries. At a time when ties between Kabul and Islamabad have been deteriorating, Aziz is the most senior member of Pakistan’s new administration to visit afghanistan. After the unfortunate launch of a liaison office for the rebels in qatar, international attempts to initiate discussions with the taliban are in a state of chaos and are now ineffective. In a fit of rage, President Karzai denounced it as an unofficial embassy for the taliban administration that is operating in exile. Karzai’s chief of staff, karim khorram, said a week ago that the taliban office was part of a plan to split apart Afghanistan that was either sponsored by pakistan or the united states. Aziz said that “we have some links” with the taliban, but he refuted the widespread belief that pakistan exerts influence over the taliban in Afghanistan. He said merely that “we have some contacts” with the militia. Both the expected withdrawal of about 100,000 foreign troops headed by the United States the next year and the upcoming presidential elections in Afghanistan in April have injected a fresh sense of urgency into the search for peace in Afghanistan. click here to read more on newslinemag.com
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