By: Azhar Azam
*This is one of my opinion pieces (unedited) that first appeared in "The Express Tribune":
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2091703/6-moving-forward-afghan-talks/
In an interview with Bloomberg in October 2018, the stalwart Afghan Taliban supporter Maulana Sami ul Haq called on China to play a greater role in Afghan peace negotiations. While asserting to welcome Beijing as an arbitrator to end the insoluble Afghan conflict, he further said that China should not to “leave matters of such a great importance solely to the US”.
Though there were already backdoor communication links between China and Taliban, yet Maulana stressed on an increased Chinese engagement in Afghan peace process because of its larger stakes in the region.
Exactly after one month of his talk, the 82-year religious academic and “Father of the Taliban” was stabbed to death at his residence in Rawalpindi city of Pakistan. Despite the fact that the veteran cleric no more exists, Taliban did pay a heed to his advice and hailed Beijing’s efforts for “Afghan-led and Afghan-owned” negotiations.
In June, before talks fell apart, a Taliban delegation led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar went to China to discuss peace prospects in Afghanistan. Last month, another Taliban team met China’s special representative on Afghanistan to renew the peace talks with US.
Pakistan is believed to have brokered all the China-Taliban peace consultations while the South Asian country has exerted immense contributions to bring Taliban on the table with the US however its peace efforts have largely been veiled.
China and Pakistan strongly backed Taliban-US peace talks before Trump tersely busted the dialogue with a volley of his fiery tweets on September 7 after the group claimed the responsibility of killing 12 people including a US soldier in a Kabul bomb explosion.
Last week, the group’s spokespersons Zabihullah Mujahid and Suhail Shaheen in Afghanistan and Qatar respectively claimed that China had invited them to hold talks on restoration of Taliban-US peace talks and to anchor intra-Afghan dialogue with Afghan government officials in personal capacity.
Though Chinese spokesperson declined to confirm the dates of intra-Afghan talks, nevertheless the recent China-Russia-Pakistan-US joint statement is testament that Beijing might anchor peace negotiations between leading Afghan political figures, Afghan government officials, and the Taliban.
Beijing and Islamabad, through Afghanistan-China-Pakistan trilateral foreign ministers’ dialogue has extended widespread support to further strengthening relations, deepening cooperation, and advancing connectivity among the three countries.
While the two countries are making all endeavors that Taliban announce a truce and engage is direct negotiations with Kabul administration, the international community must understand that the peace process in dingy Afghanistan is bound to be complex and exhausting.
Until the recent past, the US hailed a storm of diplomatic blows on Pakistan to club it down for something that was beyond its control. Washington has used to consistently accuse Islamabad for harboring terrorists and providing safe havens to them.
Lately Washington abandoned its hostile attitude towards Islamabad but it needs to realize while all the assailants bade to conquer Afghanistan and not the Afghan hearts, the strategy pushed the conditions in the battle-weary country to further deteriorate. The unprofessed interests have unvaryingly obliterated the land and region, eliciting tensions around the world.
China is coming up with an economic solution to ragged Afghanistan. It is trying to utilize its enormous economic vigor, policy to elude interference in the domestic affairs of other countries, and experience to rebuild infrastructure to overwhelm Kabul’s economic downslide.
According to a research by the World Bank, Afghanistan-adjacent BRI corridor (China-Central Asia-West Asia) can scratch the trade cost by 10.2%. If the border delays were halved, the reduction of shipment times could be lowered by as much as 21.6% as well.
For the US, which has spent about $1 trillion to fight terrorism in Afghanistan and subsequently on rebuilding the country, it would maybe intolerable that China reaps the post-peace economic and strategic gains. Thus, China’s containment in Afghanistan would be the US priority even if it flees Afghanistan.
Since China would be greatly relying on Pakistan, given the historical links and deep-rooted relations between the people of Kabul and Islamabad, for its economic ambitions in Afghanistan – US could press Pakistan to stem Chinese plausible emergence in the Islamic Republic.
But considering the deep Sino-Pak relations and increased Pakistan’s economic and defense reliance on China, Islamabad would in a position not to deliver anything substantial to the US. In addition, Pakistan won’t by any means adhere to US guidelines against China because Prime Minister Imran Khan was a staunch supporter of peace dialogue with Taliban even at a time when they were thought to be “pariahs”.
It would be therefore more sensible if US could sort out the options of Afghan peace with Pakistan than discoursing China’s containment in Afghanistan. Once peace is achieved, US can work with Pakistan, Afghan government, and Taliban for its commercial and strategic interests and economic development of Afghanistan.
*This is one of my opinion pieces (unedited) that first appeared in "The Express Tribune":
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2091703/6-moving-forward-afghan-talks/
In an interview with Bloomberg in October 2018, the stalwart Afghan Taliban supporter Maulana Sami ul Haq called on China to play a greater role in Afghan peace negotiations. While asserting to welcome Beijing as an arbitrator to end the insoluble Afghan conflict, he further said that China should not to “leave matters of such a great importance solely to the US”.
Though there were already backdoor communication links between China and Taliban, yet Maulana stressed on an increased Chinese engagement in Afghan peace process because of its larger stakes in the region.
Exactly after one month of his talk, the 82-year religious academic and “Father of the Taliban” was stabbed to death at his residence in Rawalpindi city of Pakistan. Despite the fact that the veteran cleric no more exists, Taliban did pay a heed to his advice and hailed Beijing’s efforts for “Afghan-led and Afghan-owned” negotiations.
In June, before talks fell apart, a Taliban delegation led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar went to China to discuss peace prospects in Afghanistan. Last month, another Taliban team met China’s special representative on Afghanistan to renew the peace talks with US.
Pakistan is believed to have brokered all the China-Taliban peace consultations while the South Asian country has exerted immense contributions to bring Taliban on the table with the US however its peace efforts have largely been veiled.
China and Pakistan strongly backed Taliban-US peace talks before Trump tersely busted the dialogue with a volley of his fiery tweets on September 7 after the group claimed the responsibility of killing 12 people including a US soldier in a Kabul bomb explosion.
Last week, the group’s spokespersons Zabihullah Mujahid and Suhail Shaheen in Afghanistan and Qatar respectively claimed that China had invited them to hold talks on restoration of Taliban-US peace talks and to anchor intra-Afghan dialogue with Afghan government officials in personal capacity.
Though Chinese spokesperson declined to confirm the dates of intra-Afghan talks, nevertheless the recent China-Russia-Pakistan-US joint statement is testament that Beijing might anchor peace negotiations between leading Afghan political figures, Afghan government officials, and the Taliban.
Beijing and Islamabad, through Afghanistan-China-Pakistan trilateral foreign ministers’ dialogue has extended widespread support to further strengthening relations, deepening cooperation, and advancing connectivity among the three countries.
While the two countries are making all endeavors that Taliban announce a truce and engage is direct negotiations with Kabul administration, the international community must understand that the peace process in dingy Afghanistan is bound to be complex and exhausting.
Until the recent past, the US hailed a storm of diplomatic blows on Pakistan to club it down for something that was beyond its control. Washington has used to consistently accuse Islamabad for harboring terrorists and providing safe havens to them.
Lately Washington abandoned its hostile attitude towards Islamabad but it needs to realize while all the assailants bade to conquer Afghanistan and not the Afghan hearts, the strategy pushed the conditions in the battle-weary country to further deteriorate. The unprofessed interests have unvaryingly obliterated the land and region, eliciting tensions around the world.
China is coming up with an economic solution to ragged Afghanistan. It is trying to utilize its enormous economic vigor, policy to elude interference in the domestic affairs of other countries, and experience to rebuild infrastructure to overwhelm Kabul’s economic downslide.
According to a research by the World Bank, Afghanistan-adjacent BRI corridor (China-Central Asia-West Asia) can scratch the trade cost by 10.2%. If the border delays were halved, the reduction of shipment times could be lowered by as much as 21.6% as well.
For the US, which has spent about $1 trillion to fight terrorism in Afghanistan and subsequently on rebuilding the country, it would maybe intolerable that China reaps the post-peace economic and strategic gains. Thus, China’s containment in Afghanistan would be the US priority even if it flees Afghanistan.
Since China would be greatly relying on Pakistan, given the historical links and deep-rooted relations between the people of Kabul and Islamabad, for its economic ambitions in Afghanistan – US could press Pakistan to stem Chinese plausible emergence in the Islamic Republic.
But considering the deep Sino-Pak relations and increased Pakistan’s economic and defense reliance on China, Islamabad would in a position not to deliver anything substantial to the US. In addition, Pakistan won’t by any means adhere to US guidelines against China because Prime Minister Imran Khan was a staunch supporter of peace dialogue with Taliban even at a time when they were thought to be “pariahs”.
It would be therefore more sensible if US could sort out the options of Afghan peace with Pakistan than discoursing China’s containment in Afghanistan. Once peace is achieved, US can work with Pakistan, Afghan government, and Taliban for its commercial and strategic interests and economic development of Afghanistan.