By Touqir Hussain and David Silverman
A look at a visit and what it means for Washington, Islamabad as well as other regional actors.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif just concluded an official visit to Washington. Despite a whole range of issues on which the U.S. and Pakistan do not see eye to eye, they managed to produce a surprisingly positive joint statement that, according to a State Department spokesman, highlighted their “strong and growing relationship.” Kind words helped the visit, but two defined it: Kunduz and China.
Afghanistan, security, and counterterrorism operations remain central to both sides. The United States underestimated the strength and staying power of the Taliban. Kunduz showed that the Taliban can achieve large-scale dislocations that can last weeks (and longer, if it were left to the Afghan National Security Forces only). It also proved to both the Taliban and unity government the limits of a military solution. They are at a stalemate, and there is no real alternative but reconciliation. The Taliban need to be dealt with not just militarily but politically as well. Whether the unity government has been convinced of that remains to be seen.
Kunduz requires Pakistan to recalculate also. A friendly government in Kabul is unrealizable, and undermining Indian influence at the expense of Afghanistan’s stability only sows instability in Pakistan. The troop extension has renewed American pressure on Pakistan. After the report of Mullah Omar’s death, his successor, Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour, embarked on a messy campaign to consolidate power. Before his authority vested, a return to negotiations would be fruitless. As PM Sharif noted during his visit, Pakistan “cannot bring [the Taliban] to the table and be asked to kill them at the same time.”
Read the full story at The Diplomat