US Soldiers watch as two Chinook helicopters fly in to take them back to Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan Nov. 4, 2008. Photo by Spc. Mary L. Gonzalez, CJTF-101 Public Affairs via Wikimedia
The United States’ participation in an upcoming Moscow-hosted conference on Afghanistan is imperative as Washington is currently the “biggest stakeholder” in stability of the landlocked country, confronted with multiple challenges, a top Pakistani official said.
“They [U.S] have their troops present [in Afghanistan], they have invested one trillion dollars there, they are the biggest stakeholder, they have lost hundreds of their soldiers, so they have their interests there,” , Tariq Fatemi, a foreign policy aide to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, said.
President Donald Trump’s administration has already said no to Moscow’s invitation, citing absence of any prior consultation with the United States on part of the Russian government and a lack of clarity about the objective of the one-day moot on April 14, which takes place at a critical time for Afghanistan.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will be traveling to Moscow on April 12 for talks with Russian leaders, which are likely to be dominated by the Syrian conflict but Afghanistan may also figure during the parleys.
Fatemi’s comments during an interview came as the U.S-Russia tense relations got more complicated after an American airstrike against a military installation of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who continues to enjoy Russian backing despite worldwide condemnation of years-long killings of his own people.
Moscow has been amenable to a reconciliation process involving the Afghan Taliban and Kabul as a way out of Afghanistan’s failures.
Besides, Pakistan- considered key to Afghan security and stability- its South Asian rival India – which competes with Islamabad for influence in Afghanistan – China, Iran and Central Asian countries are expected to be part of the deliberations in Moscow.
“We hope and desire that when any such peace initiative will enter into a next stage, America will have to be made part of it,” Fatemi told Aaj TV, as quoted in a Voice of America report.
In recent days, Pakistan’s new ambassador to the United States Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry has indicated that Islamabad would welcome “any and all” efforts that help achieve the goal of security and stability in Afghanistan on its restive western border.
During the interview, Fatemi said “Russia has told us its major concerns are that if civil war conditions are there in Afghanistan, it can become a center for terrorist organizations like Islamic State, or Daesh, who will then try to infiltrate into bordering Central Asian states.
While the new Trump Administration has not articulated its Afghan policy, Russia, Pakistan and China have endorsed reconciliation as the way forward for Afghanistan. India and Kabul oppose the idea.
But Kabul has little control over the country as Afghanistan remains mired in divisions along ethnic lines and President Ashraf Ghani has been too fearful to show leadership in the face of political fissures and Taliban insurgency that threaten to roll back the modicum of progress the U.S.-led international engagement has brought to Afghanistan in some socio-economic areas.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan-Pakistan relations have also nosedived after a spate of bombings on Pakistani cities were traced back to the Pakistani Taliban operating out of Afghanistan. In retaliation, Islamabad closed the border opening along its more than 2600 km long border. Both Pakistan and Afghanistan accuse each other of allowing militants to maintain sanctuaries on their lands.
While Kabul says Afghan Taliban having refuge in Pakistan are a major cause of insurgency, Pakistan has censured Kabul for allowing Pakistani Taliban to carry out anti-Pakistan activities from the Afghan soil. Islamabad also blames Kabul for allowing India to open a second front against Pakistan from the Afghan soil, and stoking insurgency in its southwestern province Balochistan – a vital route for $ 54 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor. New Delhi opposes the massive infrastructure project and energy corridor. A number of regional countries including Russia and Western countries have shown interest in taking part in the colossal investment opportunities under the corridor which will link China to the oil-rich Gulf and the world beyond as the most economical and shortest trade route.
