by Imtiaz Gul Does the meeting between the heads of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS) on February 4 mark the turning of a new page in bilateral relations? Ostensibly, yes. And for a number of reasons. First, following the revelation of Mullah Omar’s death last year, the hostility towards Pakistan in Afghanistan had peaked to unprecedented levels. As a consequence, most of the leadership in Kabul had refused to travel to Islamabad. Most Afghan political parties and the media were up in arms, questioning their government and Pakistan’s motives for proposing intelligence cooperation. The NDS Director-General Masud Andrabi’s presence in Islamabad means the Afghan security establishment has ended the self-imposed ban on coming over. This is indeed a big step forward, given the acrimonious context prevailing since July last year. Second, on January 30, Corps Commander Lieutenant General Mohammad Sharif Yaftali led an eight-member delegation of the Afghan National Army to Peshawar Corps Headquarters, where rare consultations were held with Corps Commander Lieutenant General Hidayatur Rehman on enhancing coordination and security measures on both sides of the border, a demand Pakistan has often flagged with Afghanistan as part of its counter-terrorism campaign. Third, this rare face-to-face NDS-ISI interaction came ahead of the Quadrilateral Contact Group’s (QCG) February 6 round, sparking hopes that both sides were possibly inching towards closer cooperation — an unavoidable prerequisite for making some sense out of the QCG’s incremental approach on the reconciliation endeavour. Viewed against former NDS chief Rahmatullah Nabeel’s hawkish views on Pakistan (and his aversion to the word ‘border’ for the Durand Line) and the sheer displeasure that he had expressed in his resignation a day before the Heart of Asia Conference on December 9 in Islamabad, Andrabi’s discussions with General Rizwan Akhtar assumed...

The peace process should continue with added transparency and in line with globally accepted fundamental values. Increasing bilateral trade and expeditious completion of Pakistani infrastructural projects in Afghanistan can be conducive to improving Af-Pak economic relations. The role of free media can be of an enormous significance in improving mutual perceptions. The fundamental human rights of Afghan - with their refugee status in Pakistan - should not be ignored while also facilitating their voluntary repatriation to their homeland. The cultural ties between Afghanistan and Pakistan should be promoted by building on existing historical linkages. Opportunities for educational collaboration must be explored and considered by both the governments. Pakistan and Afghanistan - reviewing respective educational curricula - can promote universal values of tolerance, peace and civic education. Mobilizing private sector investments needs enabling environment. These were the notions presented by the members of Pakistani and Afghan civil society working groups during the regional civil society workshop held from February 8-9, 2016 at Bhurban. The workshop was a fifth major round in the series of meetings between civil society and regional security experts of both countries as part of “Beyond Boundaries”, a major Af-Pak track 1.5 and II initiative launched by an Islamabad based Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) - in partnership with its Afghan counterpart organization, DURAN Research and Analysis (DRA) and sub-national partner (Pakistan), the Foundation for Integrated Development Action (FIDA) as an effort to improve relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, soothe bitter context, tackle trust deficit which can somehow de-escalate the heightened tensions and improve mutual perceptions. The Afghan and Pakistani working groups welcomed the Quadrilateral dialogue and the decision taken by respective states to hold another session on Feb 23rd 2016 in the hope...

by Murtaza Hussain A group of men from the militant Islamist group Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan infiltrated the campus of Bacha Khan University in northwestern Pakistan. Armed with assault rifles and grenades, they managed to kill over 20 students and faculty before they were gunned down by local security forces. The attack managed to shock a country that for years has endured terrorist outrages. That the killings occurred at a university, targeting innocent students and teachers, made them feel particularly heinous. But the attack was also remarkable because Pakistan, for more than a year, had appeared to be on the way to finally defeating its homegrown insurgency. And despite the horror of what happened at Bacha Khan, that still seems to be the case. Last year saw precipitous decreases in both terrorist attacks and fatalities in Pakistan. Though exact figures differ, statistics compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal, the research arm of the New Delhi-based Institute for Conflict Management, as well as a study by the Islamabad-based Center for Research and Security Studies, a pro-democracy think tank, showed significant decreases in violence in the country. A CRSS study said terrorist incidents declined 56 percent in 2015 from 2014, and the SATP, which conducts a running tally of terrorism figures, said that Pakistan in 2015 suffered the lowest number of suicide attacks and deaths from terrorism since 2006. These reported declines follow Pakistan’s initiation in 2014 of a large-scale military operation against Taliban sanctuaries in the ungoverned tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. That effort, which is ongoing, has succeeded in reclaiming most territory in the tribal areas. The seven years preceding this operation coincided with the escalation of the American war in Afghanistan and were among the bloodiest in Pakistan’s history. Those years saw a deluge of terrorist attacks that targeted markets, shrines, mosques, and major landmarks throughout the country....

ISLAMABAD:  Negotiations are currently under way with 125 insurgents in Balochistan over their possible surrender of weapons. Some 625 militants have already surrendered before the state in the past six months. The reconciliation process started under the National Action Plan (NAP) against terrorism has borne fruitful results in the restive province, officials say. Militants who give up violence have been offered cash support and jobs to help them lead a violence-free life. Balochistan insurgency: 400 militants surrender on Independence Day According to official documents available with The Express Tribune, exhaustive steps were taken for reconciliation in Balochistan to fulfil a major point under the revised anti-terror policy devised after the Peshawar school attack in December 2014. The policy also called for fully empowering the Balochistan government for political reconciliation with complete ownership by all stakeholders. Balochistan Home Secretary Akbar Durrani told The Express Tribunesaid the provincial government was committed to its reconciliation policy and the militants who have already surrendered were being rehabilitated. Under the scheme, each pardoned militant would be awarded Rs500,000 in instalments besides getting the compensation for his guns. Durrani said many such men have been already paid Rs100,000 as the first instalment. Insurgency in Balochistan: 49 militants surrender These people, he added, have been told to get the computerised national identity cards (CNIC) from the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) to obtain the benefits. They would also be provided ‘Pur Aman Balochistan Card’, which would then be used for withdrawing rehabilitation funds. “Estranged Baloch aged between 18 and 30 years who surrender will be awarded government jobs, including in military and in public sector organisations,” Durrani said. “Those above this age group will be trained in technical education.” The female family members of the...

by Imtiaz Gul Two major events on February 2 appear to provide strong evidence of the presence of the battered Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in eastern Afghanistan. They also make one understand the Afghan Unity Government’s worries about the emergence of the Islamic State (IS) in eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar. In short, they signal the need for a multilateral counterterrorism strategy. Security officials in Peshawar claimed on February 2 to have arrested Waheed Ali alias Arshad, previously dubbed “Terrorist A” – the main facilitator of the attack on the Bacha Khan University. The arrest was made in Nowshera. They said Arshad, who is said to be in his early 30s, had hired a taxi to take him to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border at Torkham. He has reportedly confessed that the planning of the attack on the university was carried out for six months in the Achin district of Afghanistan, which he said Khalifa Omar Mansoor was using as his base. The key Taliban commander had initially planned to target Abdul Wali Khan University in Mardan, but cancelled the plan because of the security arrangements on that campus. An equally surprising news the same day said there were joint Afghan-US airstrikes in the mountainous area of the Achin district in Nangarhar, which destroyed an Islamic State radio broadcast station and the group’s internet communications, among other facilities. The air raids killed five staff of the ‘Voice of Caliphate’ radio The air raids also killed 29 IS fighters, including five staff at the so-called “Voice of Caliphate” radio, according to provincial government spokesperson Attaullah Khogyani. The spokesperson said the IS has established its headquarters in Achin, from where the terrorist group has been trying to expand its influence and stage attacks elsewhere in Afghanistan. A US military spokesman, Col Michael Lawhorn, also confirmed the operation but refrained from sharing operational details with reporters. Officials and residents in...