The AP Interview: Top Pakistan diplomat details Taliban plan

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

PUBLISHED: 01:05 EDT, 23 September 2021 

 e-ma 

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Be realistic. Show patience. Engage. And above all, don't isolate. Those are the pillars of an approach emerging in Pakistan to deal with the fledgling government that is suddenly running the country next door once again - Afghanistan's resurgent, often-volatile Taliban.

Pakistan's government is proposing that the international community develop a road map that leads to diplomatic recognition of the Taliban - with incentives if they fulfill its requirements - and then sit down face to face and talk it out with the militia's leaders.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi outlined the idea Wednesday in an interview with The Associated Press on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly's meeting of world leaders.

"If they live up to those expectations, they would make it easier for themselves, they will get acceptability, which is required for recognition," Qureshi told the AP. "At the same time, the international community has to realize: What´s the alternative? What are the options? This is the reality, and can they turn away from this reality?"

He said Pakistan "is in sync with the international community" in wanting to see a peaceful, stable Afghanistan with no space for terrorist elements to increase their foothold, and for the Taliban to ensure "that Afghan soil is never used again against any country."

"But we are saying, be more realistic in your approach," Qureshi said. "Try an innovative way of engaging with them. The way that they were being dealt with has not worked."

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi speaks during an interview with The Associated Press, Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Expectations from the Taliban leadership could include an inclusive government and assurances for human rights, especially for women and girls, Qureshi said. In turn, he said, the Afghan government might be motivated by receiving development, economic and reconstruction aid to help recover from decades of war.

He urged the United States, the International Monetary Fund and other countries that have frozen Afghan government funds to immediately release the money so it can be used "for promoting normalcy in Afghanistan." And he pledged that Pakistan is ready to play a "constructive, positive" role in opening communications channels with the Taliban because it, too, benefits from peace and stability.

This is the second time that the Taliban, who adhere to a strict version of Islam, have ruled Afghanistan. The first time, from 1996 to 2001, ended when they were ousted by a U.S.-led coalition after the 9/11 attacks, which were directed by Osama bin Laden from Afghanistan.

During that rule, Taliban leaders and police barred girls from school and prohibited women from working outside the home or leaving it without a male escort. After they were overthrown, Afghan women still faced challenges in the male-dominated society but increasingly stepped into powerful positions in government and numerous fields.

But when the U.S. withdrew its military from Afghanistan last month, the government collapsed and a new generation of the Taliban resurged, taking over almost immediately. In the weeks since, many countries have expressed disappointment that the Taliban´s interim government is not inclusive as its spokesman had promised.

While the new government has allowed young girls to attend school, it has not yet allowed older girls to return to secondary school, and most women to return to work despite a promise in April that women "can serve their society in the education, business, health and social fields while maintaining correct Islamic hijab."

Pakistan, which shares a long border with Afghanistan, has a long and sometimes conflicted relationship with its neighbor that includes attempts to prevent terrorism there and, some say, also encouraging it. The Islamabad government has a fundamental vested interest in ensuring that whatever the new Afghanistan offers, it is not a threat to Pakistan.

That, Qureshi says, requires a steady and calibrated approach.

"It has to be a realistic assessment, a pragmatic view on both sides, and that will set the tone for recognition eventually," the Pakistani minister said. The good news, he said: The Taliban are listening, "and they are not insensitive to what is being said by neighbors and the international community."

How does he know they're listening? He says the interim government, drawn mostly from Afghanistan´s dominant Pashtun ethnic group, made some additions on Tuesday. It added representatives from the country's ethnic minorities - Tajiks, Uzbeks and Hazaras, who are Shiite Muslims in the majority Sunni Muslim country.

"Yes, there are no women yet," Qureshi said. "But let us let the situation evolve."

He stressed that the Taliban must make decisions in coming days and weeks that will enhance their acceptability.

"What the international community can do, in my view, is sit together and work out a roadmap," Qureshi said. "And if they fulfill those expectations, this is what the international community can do to help them stabilize their economy. This is the humanitarian assistance that can be provided. This is how they can help rebuild Afghanistan, reconstruction and so on and so forth."

He added: "With this roadmap ahead, I think an international engagement can be more productive."

On Wednesday night, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said after a meeting of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council that all five nations - the United States, China, Britain, Russia and France - want "an Afghanistan at peace, stable, where humanitarian aid can be distributed without problems or discrimination."

He also described a hoped-for "Afghanistan where the rights of women and girls are respected, an Afghanistan that won´t be a sanctuary for terrorism, an Afghanistan where we have an inclusive government representing the different sectors of the population."

Qureshi said there are different forums where the international community can work out the best way to approach the situation. In the meantime, he asserted, things seem to be stabilizing. Less than six weeks after the Taliban seized power on Aug. 15, he said, Pakistan has received information that the law-and-order situation has improved, fighting has stopped and many internally displaced Afghans are going home.

"That´s a positive sign," Qureshi said.

He said Pakistan hasn´t seen a new influx of Afghan refugees - a sensitive issue for Pakistanis, who are highly motivated to prevent it. A humanitarian crisis, a foundering economy and workers who return to jobs and school but aren't getting salaries and don't have money could cause Afghans to flee across the porous border into Pakistan, which has suffered economically from such arrivals over decades of conflict.

Qureshi prescribed patience and realism. After all, he says, every previous attempt to stabilize Afghanistan has failed, so don't expect new efforts to produce immediate success with the Taliban. If the United States and its allies "could not convince them or eliminate them in two decades, how will you do it in the next two months or the next two years?" he wondered.

Asked whether he had a prediction of what Afghanistan might be like in six months, Qureshi turned the question back on his AP interviewer, replying: "Can you guarantee me U.S. behavior over the next six months?"

___

Edith M. Lederer, chief U.N. correspondent for The Associated Press, has been reporting internationally for nearly 50 years. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EdithLedererAP

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi smiles during an interview with The Associated Press, Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi speaks during an interview with The Associated Press, Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi speaks during an interview with The Associated Press, Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi speaks during an interview with The Associated Press, Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

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The AP Interview: Top Pakistan diplomat details Taliban...

‘Taliban consulted Gen Bajwa before reaching out to India’

Anwar Iqbal

WASHINGTON: Taliban Fore­ign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi had a detailed meeting with Pakistan’s former army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa before asking India to send back its diplomats and technical staff to Kabul, says a new book on Afghanistan’s de facto rulers.

The Return of the Taliban reveals “the pivotal decisions leading to the Taliban’s seizure of power” and describes “how as rulers they struggle to reconcile pressures for transition with their rigid ideology”, said Marvin G. Weinbaum, the senior scholar of South Asian affairs in Washington.

The book is authored by Hassan Abbas, who teaches international relations at the National Defence University (NDU), Washington, and will be released in the US later this week.

India’s return to Kabul “could not have happened without Pakistan — and Pakistan acted this way because it just might open up prospects of some aid for the Taliban in Afghanistan,” Mr Abbas writes, arguing that Pakistan is as desperate about getting financial support to run Afghanistan as the Taliban themselves.

Upcoming book claims Kabul wants to mend fences with New Delhi for sake of ‘international legitimacy and recognition’

The book points out that India has strategic interests in Afghanistan, although it notes that unlike Russia and China, India had cut off diplomatic ties with Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover.

But the book also notes that “India is now seriously reassessing its position and moving towards a balancing act in its effort to engage with the Taliban and help stabilise Afghanistan”.

Discussing why the Taliban are eager to mend ties with India, the book says that “the Taliban desire is simple — international legitimacy and recognition”. Kabul’s new rulers also need “huge external investments … to reconstruct and revive the country” and India has the resources to do so.

To demonstrate Gen Bajwa’s influence in Afghanistan, the book narrates the story of Taliban minister for finance Hidayatullah Badri, who was also known by the name of Gul Agha Ishaqzai, who is said to have suffered at the hands of the Pakistani security apparatus following 9/11.

Later, Mr Muttaqi “personally took him to Gen Bajwa to extend the hand of friendship. Only Mr Bajwa’s favorable nod gave him the opportunity” to become the country’s finance minister, the book claims.

The book also discusses former ISI chief Faiz Hamid’s visit to Kabul soon after the Taliban takeover, claiming that Foreign Office had advised Gen Hamid to stay at the Pakistan embassy in Kabul, “but the overconfident spy chief dismissed it”.

Later, at a meeting with Pakistani politicians, including Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, he defended his action saying that US and Chinese intelligence chiefs had also visited Kabul around then.

He was reminded that “he was the only one photographed” and “photographs and video clips of him sipping tea in the Serena Hotel, Kabul, went viral”.

The book argues that the “visuals provided evidence of the huge influence” Pakistan had on the Taliban and hurt Pakistan as well as the Taliban.

The book also reviews the growing influence of the IS militant group in Afghanistan, noting that from August 2021, when the Taliban captured Kabul, to August 2022 it claimed responsibility for 262 attacks in the country.

“This trend was an important agenda item in the conversation between ISI chief Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum, and CIA Director William Burns in early May 2022, in Washington. The Pakistani delegation included the former ISI chief Gen Hamid as well,” the book claims.

“Mr Burns told them that at this rate of growth, IS could gain control of 20 per cent of Afghanistan by mid-2023. In response, Gen Anjum stressed the need for targeting (the group’s) top leadership … and intelligence sharing.”

The book says that at the end of the meeting: “both sides reached an interesting conclusion, … the Afghan Taliban are no longer a primary threat to the national security of the US and Afghanistan’s neighboring countries.” It’s ISIS.

The book claims that in the early days of the Taliban takeover, Gen Hamid requested the Taliban high command to “offer both Abdullah [Abdullah] and Hamid Karzai some high-sounding positions” but they did not agree to do so.

The book also underlines China’s desire to stay engaged with the Taliban regime, noting that “China not only kept its embassy open but also welcomed the Taliban’s new status” and urged the UN Security Council to unfreeze Afghanistan’s funds.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2023

AFGHANISTAN

What went wrong?

Touqir Hussain 

Published March 15, 2023 

REGARDLESS of whoever ruled Afghanistan, the country has always been a problem for Pakistan. The latter’s strategic planners may have hoped that with the Afghan Taliban’s return to power the problem would be resolved. Instead, it has worsened.

The Taliban’s rise has reflected the larger failure of Afghanistan that has several architects. Pakistan’s own contribution to the failure may be arguable but not so its Afghanistan policy. The policy had been a failure since the 1990s when the Afghans’ bitter wrangling about the implementation of the Peshawar and Makkah accords, negotiated through Pakistan’s painstaking diplomatic efforts, set the stage for unending conflict in the country.

Pakistan has not been a party to the conflict but has been part of it contributing to the Taliban’s success of which we now face the conseque­nces. The truth is there would have been no TTP had there been no Afghan Taliban. They are but two sides of the same coin.

Afghanistan presented challenges affecting Pakistan’s security and economic future, as well as regional stability. But Islamabad saw it as only a security challenge.

We failed to see that the Taliban’s rise, fall and resurgence was, in fact, the culmination of the long process that began with the overthrow of Afghanistan’s monarchy in 1973. And that the struggles for power triggered by the event had merged and collided with the Soviet invasion in 1979, America’s two Afghanistan wars, and the war against terrorism, impacting the social and political dynamics in Afgha­nis­tan and Pakistan, especially among the Pakhtun population along the border.

It enabled jihadist/sectarian currents present in Pakistan to mingle with other extremist and militant organisations in the region, and transnational networks like Al Qaeda. Afghanistan became a hinterland for some, home to others, and the flagship for all when the Taliban ruled the country. When they lost power, the Taliban’s fight became their fight too.


The Afghans have been badly served by their rulers.

The Taliban have returned to power but lack legitimacy and military control. It can be argued they won through a political deal rather than on the battlefield, and face possible resistance by Afghans and threats from new stakeholders such as the IS-K. It is doubtful if they can ever stabilise Afghanistan. And this would have consequences for Pakistan.

Pakistan failed in its Afghanistan policy, but so did the Americans and Afghans. In a nutshell, the causes of American failure were: lack of knowledge of Afghanistan’s history and culture, poor war aims, the Iraq war distraction, frequent changes of strategy and commanding generals, inept Afghan partners, the dual authority of Kabul government and the US whose interests did not always match, and, last but not least, electoral politics in Washington. Finally, America lost the appetite for failure and simply walked out.

Arguably the biggest failure was of the ruling establishment in Kabul. The Afghans are a great people and nation. They should not be ruled by the Taliban. But they have been badly served by their ruling elite who must share the bulk of the responsibility for what has happened to their hapless country.

Afghanistan has ethnic, linguistic, sectarian and tribal fault lines. Historically, its horizontal power structure has been contested by a Pakhtun-dominated elite run by Kabul and regional strongmen, providing for continued power struggles and conflicts within conflicts.

Its competitive and conflict-prone geopolitical environment has offered opportunities to its neighbours to intervene to their advantage. Neither America’s war nor the Taliban were the answer to Afg­h­a­nistan’s foundat­i­onal challenges.

Kabul should have reached out to Pakistan to jointly find a solution to the Taliban problem, which could have happened only in the complicated context of Pak-Afghan relations. Instead, it tried to use America and India to coerce Pakistan to solve the Taliban problem for them. That was never going to work.

Where do we go from here? Afghanistan is a political challenge with a military dimension — and not a military challenge with a political dimension.

The Afghan policy should be developed in a Foreign Office-led but security establishment-supported process. The pursuit of a declaratory policy by one institution and operational policy by another, with one not knowing what the other was doing, was a prescription for failure. It created credibility problems, affecting foreign policy across the board.

We have to now make the best of a bad situation and help Afghanistan by facilitating its international engagement aimed at neither strengthening nor weakening the Taliban, nor a regime change, all of which are bad options.

The writer, a former ambassador, is adjunct professor Georgetown University and Visiting Senior Research Fellow National University of Singapore.

Published in Dawn, March 15th, 2023

‘My heart is crying’: Afghan refugees wait on family members to join them in Canada



By Canadian Press

Dec 22, 2022 | 

TORONTO — Khalid Khogiani arrived in Canada from Afghanistan through Pakistan more than a year ago and has been waiting for the Canadian government to process the refugee applications for his wife, mother and siblings ever since.

The 34-year-old, who worked as a computer assistant and interpreter with the Canadian Armed Forces in Kandahar between 2009 and 2011, said he applied for asylum at Canada’s embassy in Kabul and got his visa before the Taliban seized control of the Afghan capital in August 2021. He arrived in Canada two months after the takeover, but the rest of his family stayed in the family’s house in Afghanistan.

“When I remember my mother, I cry, my heart is crying, my mind is crying,” he said.

“We spend difficult time … when you are separated from your family and you come to Canada and your family is in Afghanistan, you know the pain.”

Khogiani is among the Afghan refugees who came to Canada on their own or with some of their family members since the fall of Kabul. Many who applied for their loved ones to join are left to wait for their applications to be approved.

The federal Liberal government initially promised to settle 20,000 Afghan refugees and then doubled that commitment to 40,000 during the election campaign in 2021.More than 26,000 Afghan refugees have already arrived in Canada.

As many more wait, the situation in Afghanistan is further deteriorating — especially for girls and women. The Taliban rulers banned female students from attending university this week in their latest crackdown on women’s rights and freedoms.

The Taliban was ousted from power by a U.S.-led coalition, that included Canada, in 2001 in the aftermath of 9/11, but returned last year after the U.S. abruptly and chaotically departed.

Khogiani said his horrific one-and-a-half-month journey from Kabul to Toronto started when agents working with Canada smuggled his brother and him through the border to Pakistan at night.

They had to hide from the Pakistani police in Islamabad until his flight to Canada was finally booked, he added.

He tried to bring the rest of his family, but the Canadian government told him that adding others to his application would jeopardize his evacuation.

“I said to the (immigration department), I have my family there, so I cannot go to Canada without my family,” Khogiani said.

“They said, ‘if you want to include your other family members, your case will be delayed. Do not do that’.”

The Afghan refugee, who now works as a technician with Bell Canada in Bradford, Ont., said he eventually decided to come to Canada on his own and apply from here for his family members to join him.

His brother landed in Toronto a few weeks after him but the rest of his family members, who recently moved to Pakistan, are still waiting for their refugee applications to be processed, he said.

“I was scared. I was worried. So, I decide I need to go alone,” Khogiani said.

Mona Elshayal, co-founder of a volunteer group called Canadian Connections that has been helping Afghan refugees to come to Canada, said many of the Afghan refugees who arrived here last year filled out the forms to bring their family members right after landing in Canada.

“People who came (after) August 2021 who are trying to bring their families, other family members, who helped the Canadian government or military and followed their processes, called in, registered them, filled in the paperwork, there’s no updates on their paperwork,” she said.

“There’s no way to get an update on the application — if anybody is ever going to come.”

She said the delay has a negative affect those who came here, but it’s devastating those who are waiting overseas to be united with their loved ones in Canada.

“There’s people who have travelled outside Afghanistan waiting for the Canadian government to bring them in and there’s no update on their application,” she said.

“They’re in limbo, because they’re stuck. They can’t go back. They don’t know if the Canadian government is ever going to bring them.”

A spokeswoman for the federal immigration department said the government recognizes that’s it’s important to keep families together but it’s facing a “significant challenge” to process the family reunification applications for Afghan refugees as many of the family members are still in Afghanistan.

“We are navigating a constantly evolving situation in Afghanistan in which the government of Canada has no military or diplomatic presence,” Michelle Carbert said in a statement.

“Movement out of Afghanistan by air and land continues to be very difficult and dangerous, and the absence of stable conditions and ever-changing circumstances around exit documentation requirements impacts our ability to move people quickly.”

Carbert said the government is generally unable to process an application until applicants reach a third country, submit their biometrics and meet other requirements.

“Applications continue to be processed as quickly as possible both remotely and digitally through our network of visa officers,” she said. “These cases are also often very complex and processing will take longer as we work to receive information and work through their application. Every step along the way can bring a unique challenge depending on the individual’s circumstances.”

Stephen Watt, co-founder of Northern Lights Canada, a non-profit that’s been helping Afghan refugees in Toronto, said Canada’s response to the refugee crisis in Afghanistan has not met the expectations and needs of those who helped Canada in Afghanistan.

“Canada talks about trying to be humanitarian and help these people, but then it handicaps its own programs with things like quota limits and paperwork requirements.”

“The consequence of all this is not that people (here) feel happy that they’re able to help people (in Afghanistan) who deserve it, they just feel frustrated and dismayed and disappointed.”

The government introduced a new program in September to allow Canadian individuals and organizations to privately sponsor up to 3,000 Afghan refugees who don’t have refugee status from the United Nations refugee agency or a foreign state.

But for Watt, it is another example of Canada’s lacklustre response to the crisis in Afghanistan because it was not only capped at 3,000 applications, but it also required private sponsors to complete a special training course.

“If Canada really meant what it said about being a humanitarian country that has close ties with Afghan people, especially the ones who have relatives here or who have helped us, they would make things easier, not harder every time,” he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 22, 2022.

Maan Alhmidi, The Canadian Press

Ottawa urged to pressure Pakistan not to deport Afghan refugees in line for Canada

The federal Liberal government is facing calls to intervene amid reports that Pakistan is preparing to arrest and expel Afghan refugees, many of whom are waiting to escape to Canada.


Ottawa urged to pressure Pakistan to stop deporting Afghans, speed up refugee claims© Provided by The Canadian Press

The Liberal government promised in August 2021 to resettle 40,000 Afghans who have fled their country to escape the Taliban.

That includes thousands of Afghans with connections to Canada, including former interpreters who served alongside the Canadian Armed Forces.

But only about 27,000 Afghan refugees have arrived in Canada more than a year later, with thousands waiting in Pakistan for word on when they can depart.

Now there are fears that Pakistan will start arresting and deporting Afghans who have sought temporary refuge, including hundreds already approved to come to Canada, at the end of the month.

The Pakistan government has set a deadline of Dec. 31 for foreigners without visas, or with expired visas, to leave. If not, they face the risk of arrest and deportation.

The fear is that if sent back, they will face persecution or death at the hands of the Taliban.

"This threat will compound what is already one of the world's worst humanitarian crises ever," said Wendy Cukier of Lifeline Afghanistan, an organization that has been helping bring Afghan refugees to Canada.

"Canada must use every means at its disposal ⁠— diplomacy, humanitarian aid, even trade negotiations and economic partnerships ⁠— to persuade Pakistan to work with Canada to resolve this issue."

The Canadian government has received assurances from Pakistan that it will not arrest or deport Afghans after the Dec. 31 deadline, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada spokeswoman Isabelle Dubois said in a statement on Friday.

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"While there have been concerns that some Afghan refugees in Pakistan may be returned to Afghanistan or jailed after the Dec. 31 expiration of this waiver, the government of Pakistan has indicated that the only enforcement action that could be taken against foreigners overstaying their visas will be the re-imposition of fines and potentially being blacklisted from returning to Pakistan," she said.

"Canada appreciates the ongoing efforts by the government of Pakistan to facilitate the safe passage of Canada-bound Afghan refugees," Dubois added.

"We continue to advocate for streamlined procedures and strengthened protections for vulnerable Afghans and appreciate Pakistan's support in helping secure routes of safe passage."

But that is cold comfort to NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan, who says she has been warning the government about the impending deadline since the Pakistan government first announced its plan in October.

Kwan pointed to numerous reports in recent weeks of Pakistan authorities checking foreigners' visas and making arrests as proof of the threat.

"The situation on the ground for people who are trying to escape persecution from the Taliban is that this is not reassuring at all," she said. "The reality is that they are living in fear every day."

Kwan said she has personally received text messages about Pakistani police having raided a hotel where Afghan refugees were staying.

"And the only way I'm told that people cannot get arrested in that process is to pay heavy bribes," she said.

"The reality is that people have been hiding, and they have not been working. They don't really have the resources to be able to afford to pay these hefty bribes. That is what's happening on the ground for people."

The federal government has been repeatedly criticized for the pace of its work to bring Afghan refugees to Canada, facing anger and frustration over delays and what many see as a lack of urgency.

Kwan echoed Cukier's call for the government to put whatever pressure possible on Pakistan not to act on its Dec. 31 deadline, and for Ottawa to speed up resettlement efforts.

"There are people who served Canada, they are the loved ones of people who put their lives at risk in serving Canada, and now the Taliban is hunting them down aggressively," she said.

"So, the government needs to make good on their promise that they would bring these Afghans to safety."

Amid clashes with Kabul, Pakistan tells Ottawa it won't deport Canada-bound paperless Afghan migrants

Story by Raffy Boudjikanian • 


In an apparent reversal from an announcement this fall, Pakistan's government has told Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada it will not deport paperless Afghan migrants or throw them in jail after the end of this month, but rather impose fines or perhaps a ban on their return to Pakistan.

"The Government of Pakistan has indicated that the only enforcement action that could be taken against foreigners overstaying their visas will be the re-imposition of fines and potentially being blacklisted from returning to Pakistan," the Immigration Department said in a statement to CBC.

As a country neighbouring Afghanistan, Pakistan has been a go-to destination for Afghan migrants hoping to qualify for Canada's resettlement program. Twenty-one charter flights carrying Afghans from Islamabad have come to Canada this year, according to IRCC.

In October, Pakistan's Ministry of the Interior had started running ads on television and social media telling migrants to the country whose visas had expired that they would risk deportation or jail time after Dec. 31, 2022.

Those ads did not explicitly target any ethnicity but ran in Urdu, Pakistan's national language, as well as Pashto and Dari, two languages that are commonly spoken by Afghans.

In November, Pakistan's High Commission in Ottawa told CBC News that Afghans with valid visas/documents for onward travel would be "facilitated by the government of Pakistan."

This latest change comes as the country's relationship with Afghanistan has deteriorated. Pakistan continued to hold diplomatic ties with the Taliban after it took over Kabul in September 2021.

But since last month, the two countries have been involved in border clashes. As well, inmates belonging to a Pakistan off-shoot of the Taliban took over a Pakistani jail and there was a gunfire attack on Pakistan's embassy in Kabul.

Pakistan caught in 'murky politics:' expert

With no sense of how much worse the conflict could get, one observer of the region said migrants could well remain in limbo.

"The murky politics of the region are now coming home to roost for Pakistan," said Elliot Tepper, a professor of international relations at Carleton University in Ottawa.

He said Islamabad supported the Taliban for years until the latter's return to power in 2021, hoping to foster a regional ally.

"They thought they were buying that strategic depth, the friend in Kabul that they required," he said. "Now that the Taliban are back in power, they are looking after their own traditional interests, and those interests conflict with Pakistan's."

Tepper said this has left Afghan migrants who were former Canadian military personnel in the lurch.


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"The people who have helped us materially ... those that we owe, that we have an obligation to, and people in Canada are working to assist, they are paying the cost of this politics between the powers of Afghanistan and Pakistan," he said.

Migrants concerned

Between the government ad, the uncertainty over the conflict between the two countries and the long wait for Immigration Canada to process their applications to fly to Canada, some migrants were still worried.

"We are waiting and waiting for the email [for] when will we be able to get our flights," said one former Canadian military interpreter living in Islamabad with his wife and 10 children.

CBC News has agreed not to name him, as his brothers, who also served with the Canadian military, are still living in Kandahar City.

All of them are targets of the Taliban.



A screenshot from the official government of Pakistan ad warning of jail time or deportation for paperless migrants after New Year's Eve this year, which has Canada-bound Afghan migrants concerned.© Government of Pakistan

He and his immediate family moved to Islamabad in May, arriving legally on visas that cost him $6,000 US in savings.

But he has been unable to renew the paperwork after it expired, and other expenses piled up with no income, as he does not have the right to work in Pakistan.

"The money which I had, I just spent the whole money on [the family]," he said, enumerating "shoes, clothes, medicine or buying fruits or buying something for the kids."

The interpreter has completed his application to Canada and is now waiting to see whether he will be accepted or rejected.

Returning to Afghanistan 'is suicide'

Mohammad Younas Nasimi has been waiting longer, having arrived in Islamabad with his family last year.

The former Canadian military contractor said he cannot keep up that wait, as he eyed the Dec. 31 deadline.

Rather than risk jail for him and his family in Pakistan, or all of them being handed over to the Taliban, he said he will sneak back across the border alone.

"I know that going back ... is suicide," he said. But he believes he faces better chances eking out a living for his wife and six children in Afghanistan.

Nasimi has been corresponding with the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi over his immigration file for months, always receiving replies telling him his case was still being processed.

He showed CBC News an embassy answer to one of his last emails, where he had let them know he was thinking of going back to Afghanistan, and asking for advice.

"We are sorry to hear about the very challenging circumstances," the embassy had written back.

"We encourage you to take whatever lawful steps you deem necessary outside of this application, to provide for the safety and security of yourselves and your family."

SEE

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2022/12/refugee-group-says-ottawa-will-help.html

Pakistan in a quagmire: Resurgence of terrorism along with its relations with Afghanistan

January 5, 2023
By Safwan Ali


When Taliban took over Kabul in August 2021, a large faction of the Pakistani society including mainstream politicians amused the fact that reins of Kabul had become in control of Taliban. One obvious reason for this felicitation was the much awaited perceived stability in neighboring Afghanistan which had direct impact on Pakistan. The other reason for jubilation in some factions was about the solidarity with regards to the identity of Afghan people. As brotherly nation, perseverance of Afghan people against the scourge of prolonged war, that too against the strongest military alliance, was a matter of inspiration for many in Pakistan. However, the formal response of the government was very much aligned with the global response. Islamabad did not officially recognize the interim government of Taliban. The eventful month of August, 2021 was followed by some key developments.

Considering the geo-political change in the neighboring Afghanistan, Pakistan started to rethink its strategy at the western border. Through a backdoor channel, Islamabad approached the Taliban government to ensure the security of its western border from the hideouts of TTP living in Afghanistan. In short, Pakistan wanted the Taliban government to take strong action against TTP. However, in response to that, Kabul with TTP onboard, came up with a “quid pro quo plus” approach. It urged the Pakistan’s government to have a formal agreement with TTP which later on proceeded through a back door channels. In the agreement, TTP agreed for so called cease-fire along and inside Pakistan’s territory in exchange for cessation of Pakistan’s military operation against TTP. Moreover, the strangest of demands that Pakistan agreed to, was providing, the previously expelled TTP associates, with permission to come back and reside in districts of the tribal area. On the other hand, second critical development following the fall of Kabul, was Pakistan’s stance in the international community with respect to humanitarian concerns in Afghanistan. Pakistan’s foreign minister repeatedly urged the International community to establish a meaningful dialogue and engagement with the fragile state of Afghanistan to help the people of Afghanistan. He frequently argued that alienation of a rouge actor prompts even harsher human rights violation by that actor. Hence the world should not neglect Afghanistan and the people of Afghanistan Rather, it should accept the reality and engage with Afghanistan.

However, it is extremely unfortunate to write that, both the aforementioned developments, gave rise to a Pro-Taliban sentiment vis-à-vis Pakistan. Nevertheless, the same sentiment has often been misrepresented in the western literature, and the same narrative has also been used to demonize Pakistan at the international forums. However, in reality Pakistan had been the most affected country by terrorism and it had been fighting against the scourge of terrorism since over a decade now. What is even more unfortunate is that in the recent past, TTP announced to resume its nefarious terrorist activities in Pakistan. As a result, a spike in terrorist events specifically in KPK province has been witnessed. The December 21st,2022 military operation is a testament to aggravating law and order situation in the country, in which a group of 25 TTP associated terrorists had been killed, while holding a CTD compound, hostage in Bannu.

Because there is a resurgence of terrorism coupled with the international criticism due to perceived relations with Afghanistan under Taliban. “Pakistan is appeared to be in a quagmire.”

Now, what Pakistan can pursue to undo this, is to redevise a comprehensive plan of action against terrorism in KPK and former FATA. It should also formulate a clear strategy at the western border not to tolerate any presence as well as influx of militants from Afghanistan. Moreover, for future, the state of Pakistan should also learn from the abysmal agreement that it went in with a Non-State Actor (NSA). For NSA’s an agreement is nothing more than a concealing tool for a limited survival. It is because of the three reasons. First, an agreement is always done between two responsible actors; terrorist group like TTP has no burden of responsibility neither in a domestic setting nor at the international level. Whereas, a sovereign state has immense responsibility at the domestic and international level. Second, an agreement between two states holds significance because of the perceived repute in the international system, Whereas, for a non-state actor like TTP, International reputation never comes into the equation as such groups are already infamous for their terrorist agenda. Third, States are mostly bound to stick fast to their bilateral or multilateral agreements, because of the fear of diplomatic and economic sanctions once they pull back from the agreement. Whereas in case of Non-state actors, there exist no such incentive to remain in the agreement.

Considering all the three reasons, it is quite evident that engaging with TTP for so called ceasefire agreement was neither viable nor will it ever be, particularly because, as a state, Pakistan would have to offer a lot in exchange to absolutely nothing. Moreover, because of such an agreement, Pakistan would itself invite criticism from the already skeptical international community. Hence for Pakistan, no tolerance policy against terrorism is the only option possible in order to lower domestic and international cost simultaneously.

Say It Ain't So

Afghanistan is falling back into the hands of the Taleban, a report by an international think-tank has claimed.

The Senlis Council has blamed international forces for failing to achieve stability and security.

The Senlis Council, which provides advice on foreign policy, security and development, claims nothing has been done to address widespread poverty in Afghanistan.

Its report, Afghanistan Five Years Later: The Return of the Taleban, says that the Taleban have a strong psychological and de facto military control over half of the country.

"Nato is caught in a trap in a way. They are faced with a deteriorating situation, they cannot do the core job of helping reconstruction," Emmanuel Reinert, executive director of the Senlis Council, said.

Opium war 'making enemies

British and US efforts to decimate the opium industry in Afghanistan have "hijacked" nation-building attempts in the country, and are driving support for the Taliban, a report said today.

The highly critical study of the five years since the US-led invasion found that Afghans are starving to death despite international donor pledges and that the foreign military presence was "fuelling resentment and fear" among the local population.

The report, by the Senlis Council, an international policy thinktank, said that the US-led international community had "failed to achieve stability and security" in the war-torn country and that attacks were perpetuated on a daily basis.

Of course Opium helps fuel that armed resistance.......as it did with the War against the Soviet Union.....

Commentary: Pakistan fuels Taliban's resurgency

Some of the opium bounty greases the relays for Taliban to operate in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas, which Pakistan also denies despite having lost at least 700 soldiers fighting Taliban and their al-Qaida allies in these same areas.
Since the liberation of Afghanistan in November 2001, the area under opium cultivation has grown by almost 60 percent to 400,000 acres. And this despite draconian eradication campaigns by Britain and the United States. Now well over half the country's GDP is derived from narcotics trafficking. Warlords and drug lords -- frequently one and the same -- are represented surreptitiously in President Hamid Karzai's central government, which also includes a minister for "counternarcotics."
Taliban's resurgency in southern Afghanistan has impacted five provinces where crop substitution was abandoned to the exigencies of counter-guerrilla operations. Taliban also encourages poppy farming for levied protection.

And why is that....perhaps because the Taliban and bin Laden Inc. are hiding in the terrorist state next door...

General Pervez Musharraf, the Pakistani president, will also visit Kabul on Wednesday for anti-terrorism talks with Karzai. Fighters cross between Afghanistan and Pakistan through their porous 2,450-km-long border. The two neighbours routinely accuse each other of not doing enough to stamp out attacks along the frontier where Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaeda and Taliban fugitives are believed to be hiding.

And of course he will bring good news with him.....that the Pakistani government has negotiated a truce with the Taliban..in the Northwest....allowing the Taliban to reinforce their troops in the Southeast of Afghanistan......yep NATO is screwed......

The Pakistani government and pro-Taliban fighters have agreed a deal aimed at ending five years of conflict in Waziristan on the Afghanistan border.
Hundreds of Pakistani troops and pro-Taliban fighters have been killed in the government's attempt to assert its authority in Waziristan as part of the US-led "war on terror". Under the agreement, the pro-Taliban forces have agreed to stop attacks both in Pakistan and in Afghanistan.

Pakistan Backs Taliban, al-Qaeda in Afghanistan: ANP

He said with agreement the Taliban operative in tribal areas were given free hand to carry out disruptive acts in Afghanistan. After the agreement, the Taliban would boldly launch insurgencies in Afghanistan. He said: "Pakhtun of Pakistan will never accept such series of current violence should be on in Afghanistan."

Also See:

Pakistan

Afghanistan

War

Opium





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