A six member Pakistani delegation arrived in Kabul on Thursday, February 16, 2017 for the fourth meeting of Pakistan Afghanistan Joint Committee (PAJC) as part of CRSS-WPSO Pak-Afghan track 1.5/II project Beyond Boundaries Phase II.
The key Pakistani delegation members were Dr. Shoaib Suddle, former IG Police and federal tax ombudsman; Qazi Humayun, former Ambassador; Mian Sanaullah, former Ambassador; and Tahir Khan, senior journalist, and Ms Shazia Marri, Member National Assembly. They were also accompanied by Imtiaz Gul, Head of CRSS and Malik Mustafa, Team Leader, CRSS.
The Afghanistan side included Elay Ershad, Member of Parliament; Abdul Hakeem Mujahid, head of executive council of the High Peace Council; Palwasha Hassan, civil society leader; Fowzia Koofi, Member of Parliament; Wazmah Frogh, Civil Society Activist and head of WPSO; and Sami Mahdi, Director TOLO TV. During their dialogue on February 18, 2017, the Afghan and Pakistani PAJC members called on both Pakistan and Afghanistan to exercise restraint in the current situation in the larger interest of the people of the two countries. They need to focus on the real issues that are obstructing peace and reconciliation. The group also called on both governments to instantly provide counsellor access to prisoners detained in both countries on various charges. This could help in providing mutual legal assistance and fair trial.
Mr. Imtiaz Gul, during his opening remarks, said that it was extremely devastating how the recent attacks in Pakistan (Lahore and Sehwan) claimed over 100 lives. He said that the unofficial communication channels were extremely useful for talks between the two countries when the relationship was not good at the official level. The agenda of common people should get preference over politics. Speaking on the educational cooperation between the two countries, he said that Afghan students have as much right to the quality education as Pakistani students. The scholarships on-offer for Afghan students in Pakistan by National University of Science and the Technology (NUST) still stand, while Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) is likely to announce scholarships soon. He said that several commerce and trade related meeting were pending on Afghan side; especially the Pak-Afghan Joint Ministerial Meeting for the finalization of Afghanistan Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA). The media and civil society should pressurize their respective governments to prioritize these meetings besides security issues. The finalization of APTTA is crucial for trade cooperation and improving bilateral trade. There is a lot of missing information about the role of Pakistan for peace in Afghanistan. The two countries should not condition their relations with other countries.
“We need to think what is it that we need to change to make a difference and resolve the issues between Pakistan and Afghanistan”, Dr. Shoaib Suddle, Former Federal Ombudsman, Former DG Intelligence Bureau; and Former IG Sindh Police noted while underscoring that the two sides should sit together, share intelligence and go after the terrorists. The issue of porous border between the two countries is also very relevant and important to the bilateral relations. We need to reinvent the narrative that has existed for too long and has been damaging our relations. The civil society, in order to play its role, need to be enlightened with the correct narrative. It should also come up with the doable recommendations. Frequent exchange of information about the terrorists between the two sides is critical to ensure peace.
Palwasha Hassan, civil society activist, said that the blame-game could create issues for the general public; especially for the refugees in Pakistan. It is also detrimental to trade and forward movement on other areas of cooperation. The two countries have lost many opportunities for cooperation in the past, but should not miss more opportunities to come in the future. The mistrust between the two countries need critical attention.
Mr. Abdul Hakeem Mujahid said that both the countries were suffering from the menace of terrorism and insurgency. We should have courage to state the facts publically. The in-camera meetings of two sides should discuss the critical issues and matters in greater details. Beyond Boundaries is a good forum and an attempt to ameliorate the trust deficit between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Ms. Fowzia Koofi said that both countries shared the same pain. Respecting human rights of refugees is the responsibility of public. The high level political commitment is critical to address the most important and formidable issues between the two countries, while practical steps and talks around the small issue are also needed. We need to think how we can influence our governments into positive relations. The leaders should be impactful in doing their jobs rather than being involved into blame-game. The issues of concern for both sides should be discussed as avoiding the issues doesn’t really solve the issues and discussing doesn’t mean deciding on the issues.
Mr. Sami Mahdi, Director Tolo News, said that the issue of refugees was very important to Afghanistan. We are thankful to Pakistan for the exceptional hospitality shown over the past decades towards Afghan refugees, but now the harsh behavior of Police and other authorities can really affect the bilateral relations. The peace and prosperity in one country cannot be ensured without peace and prosperity in the other. Peaceful Afghanistan will facilitate smooth access for Pakistan to Central Asia. The two countries cannot live without each other and Pakistan is the most important neighbour to Afghanistan. We should also bring the insurgents to the table of negotiation.
Mr. Imtiaz Gul, responding to the refugees issue raised by Mr. Sami Mahdi, informed the gathering that the Pakistani PM himself took notice of the issue of harsh behaviors with refugees and the Pakistani resolve to address this problem is manifest in the new refugees policy.
Qazi Humayun, former Pakistani diplomat said that the statements by the leaders on both sides have an impact on public opinions and attitudes which ultimately translate to the actions and people to people behaviors. Living as peaceful neighbours requires precautions and negative statements at head of the state levels should be avoided. He urged both the intelligence agencies to improve exchange of intelligence information and interactions on daily basis.
Ms. Wazma Farogh, head of WPSO, said that the bilateral level talks were required to figure out the issues of critical concern. She, agreeing with Qazi Humayun, urged both the governments to restrain from statements that hurt the sentiments. She said that the issue of Pakistani prisoners in Afghan custody should also be discussed for giving access to them on humanitarian basis, legal assistance and fair trial. The positive developments in both countries in the favour of each other should not only be highlighted but there should also be some mechanism to do that.
Ms. Elay Ershad, member of Afghan parliament said that the blame game between the two countries should stop right away.
The PAJC members had other important meetings as well during their stay in Kabul. The Pakistani delegation and the Afghan delegation were hosted for a working lunch by Ambassador of Pakistan to Afghanistan, H.E. Ibrar Hussain on Friday, February 17, 2017. The programme also included visits to Ibn-e-Sina University on February 18, 2017, and Gowharshad University on February 20, 2017 for lectures by PAJC members. These university visits are aimed to outreach the youth in both countries to counter misperceptions about each other and improve their understanding on the Pak-Afghan bilateral relations (reports from university visits under separate tabs below).
As part of their strategic meetings on the sidelines, the PAJC members met several high level stakeholders in Afghan government, which included meetings with the Minister of Refugee and Repatriation, S. Hossain Alemi Balkhi; and the Deputy Foreign Minister, Hekmat Karzai. They also met with key civil society organizations & journalists in Kabul, and had a meeting with the members of business community at Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The visit also included media interactions of three delegates each from both the groups at Tolo TV for an exclusive prime time talk show on Pak-Afghan relations. Executive Director CRSS, Mr. Imtiaz Gul, participated in talk shows on leading Pakistani channels such as GEO, ARY, DAWN, and WAQT, and talked about the track II initiative and the recent deadlock in the bilateral relations after Pakistan shut down the Afghan border crossing points at Torkham and Chamman on Friday – the day when the delegation arrived in Kabul. Before departing for Kabul, a TV talk Show was held at Mashriq TV as a curtain raiser for the visit, where Tahir Khan from Pakistan delegation, and Elay Ershad from Afghanistan delegation participated.
