Army chief Gen Qamar Bajwa said during his meeting with the political leader of Afghanistan Ustad Karim Khalili that a stable and peaceful Afghanistan was in Pakistan’s interest. There is no doubt that Pakistan is keen to restore peace and stability in the war-torn country. Pakistan’s ongoing peace process between the Taliban and Kabul possible. The change in the administration in the US should be useful for boosting the peace process in Afghanistan. The Biden administration is unlikely to adopt a new policy that would undermine the ongoing peace process in Afghanistan, as it was cleared by the national security adviser, nominated by Biden, in his statement.
The first round of intra-Afghan talks from September to December 2020 was useful. The ongoing second round is expected to yield some concrete results like a ceasefire, reduction in weapons and to set an agenda for national affairs. For ending the conflict and setting the country on the path of development, the Afghans need to unite. They need to differentiate between their friends and their enemies who are masquerading as friends. Pakistan has been briefing Afghanistan consistently to stop such forces from taking over or influencing the peace process.
Unfortunately, not enough attention has been paid to this issue. Consequently, for some time, the presence of international terrorist groups in Afghanistan has been strengthened. Terror-attacks have increased. The Taliban have assured that no violent attacks would take place from their side. However, despite their assurances, Afghanistan continues to face terror attacks from international terrorist groups who have the support of the forces that want to sabotage the Afghan peace process. These terror activities would have an impact in Pakistan as well. Therefore, it is the responsibility of Afghanistan not to let such groups strengthen their hold in Afghanistan.