DM Monitoring
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is set to host prominent Afghan political leaders at a conference in a bid to speed up the intra-Afghan peace process as the U.S.-led foreign military withdrawal from the neighboring country nears completion. The Pakistani diplomatic initiative takes place after Taliban insurgents rapidly made territorial advances by capturing scores of new Afghan districts across the war-torn country since early May, when U.S. and NATO allied troops formally began the withdrawal process.
The ensuing security deterioration has fueled fears the vacuum left by the departure of foreign troops could turn the conflict into a full-blown civil war and enable transnational terrorist groups to find more space on Afghan soil to attack their respective targets in neighboring countries and beyond.
Highly placed official sources in Islamabad told media on Wednesday the proposed conference is scheduled for “17 to 19 July” and several Afghan leaders have already confirmed their participation. Afghan special presidential envoy for Pakistan Mohammed Umer Daudzai and former finance minister Omar Zakhilwal have both confirmed they will attend the meeting. However, Daudzai, said the meeting “dates are still being debated.”
Hamid Karzai, a former Afghan president, Salahuddin Rabbani, a former foreign minister, Omar Zakhilwal, a former finance minister, Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq, a senior leader of ethnic Hazara minority community, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former warlord-turned politician, and Ahmad Wali Masoud, are among the invitees, the sources said.
Islamabad has proposed to arrange the meeting as months of slow-moving, U.S.-brokered peace negotiations between the Taliban and Afghan government representatives have not met with any success.
Many of the leaders invited to the the Islamabad meeting are also expected to travel to Doha, Qatar, under the leadership of the head of Afghanistan’s national reconciliation council, Abdullah Abdullah, to discuss with Taliban leaders ways to advance the peace process.
Pakistani officials say regional countries are worried and collectively making efforts to press warring Afghans to negotiate an “inclusive political settlement” to prevent the situation from spiraling out of control. Taliban expected to bring senior leaders to the table when two sides meet, possibly on Friday
Mansoor Khan, Pakistan’s ambassador to Afghanistan, says his country has maintained across the board engagement with all Afghan stakeholders relevant to the peace process, including the Kabul government and the Taliban. “We are constructively engaged to use all our influence in a positive manner. But we cannot and we should not be prescribing a solution for Afghanistan,” Khan stressed while speaking from Kabul earlier this week.
