KABUL: The Afghan government has accused Pakistan of wrecking efforts to end the Taliban’s bloody 11-year insurgency, in the latest sign of worsening cross-border relations.
Pakistan, which backed the 1996-2001 Taliban regime, is seen as having a crucial role in negotiating a political settlement with extremist leaders sheltering in its border districts.
Relations had improved between both countries over recent months, building up to a three-way summit hosted by Britain in February to find an end to the war US-led troops have waged since 2001.
But President Hamid Karzai’s spokesman Aimal Faizi said Pakistan had abandoned the peace process and imposed “impossible” pre-conditions on any further discussions that would encourage the Taliban to lay down weapons.
“Things were going well up to the trilateral (summit) in Britain, so we were hopeful, but soon it became clear that Pakistan had changed its position and the peace process was no longer its priority,” he said.
“They demanded we cut all ties with India ((Pakistan’s arch-enemy), send army officers to Pakistan for training and sign a strategic partnership.”
Faizi said India was one of Afghanistan’s closest allies and any Afghan officer trained in Pakistan would be viewed as a suspected spy when he returned home.
“If we sign a strategic agreement with Pakistan, the Afghan public would stone us to death because they know that suicide bombers that kill civilians and our forces come from Pakistan.”
One sign of the breakdown in ties was the cancellation on Wednesday of a confidence-building visit by 11 Afghan officers to take part in a military exercise in the Pakistani city of Quetta. Kabul said the visit had been scrapped over reported firing of 50 shells from Pakistan into the Afghan province of Kunar.
Last month a conference of Afghan and Pakistani religious scholars to push forward the peace process was called off due to disagreements.
Faizi, who recently described the international coalition’s war effort against the Taliban as “useless and unwise”, launched a stinging attack on Pakistan.
“Today there is more instability on the Pakistan side of the Durand Line (border) than on the Afghan side.
“Afghanistan is moving in the right direction, but in Pakistan they are losing control of more provinces to terrorists.
“President Karzai has often visited Pakistan to tell them that terrorism is destroying us all and we should fight it together before it is too late, but instead they accuse him of being an obstacle to peace,” he said.
Kabul’s determination to work without Pakistan has triggered concern among international backers scrambling to foster stability before US-led combat forces leave Afghanistan next year. Agencies
