The message, from a militant identified as Abdu Yasir al-Afghani, highlighted the growing rivalry between supporters of Islamic State and the Taliban, and came on the same day regional powers began a conference in Islamabad to discuss how to stabilize Afghanistan. The United States and some 20 other countries serve as “supporting nations” in the process.
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“The agenda of the conference is aimed at cementing regional ties through a set of confidence-building measures”, according to a statement released by Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry.
The stated aim of the process is to foster regional cooperation with a view to promoting long-term peace, stability and development in Afghanistan and the wider region.
The Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, the foreign ministers of India, China, Tajikistan, Iran and Afghanistan will attend the Conference among other dignitaries.
Aziz said that all global stakeholders have been emphasizing the insurgency in Afghanistan can not be ended without peace negotiations.
In the current anti-Islamic State climate, Modi’s warnings are hitting closer to home for most states. “The primary peace from our judgement is to make sure that the government of Pakistan engages with us fundamentally regarding the commonality of (the terrorism) threat, and then we can forge”, he said. This means Islamabad also has big responsibilities, principally in dealing with the Taliban and regaining the trust of the Afghans and letting the peace process be Afghan-led, and not manipulated by Islamabad. The hope remains for a political settlement with the Taliban, though that group’s recent fracturing delays such an outcome. But is it making an effort?
Semin Barakzai, a lawmaker from western Herat province, asked President Ghani to disclose all information he had about Pakistan’s interference in Afghanistan at the Islamabad conference.
Mr Ghani told a press conference on Monday: “There is no evidence that Mansour has been killed”. This marks a significant departure in India’s Afghan policy which has so far consistently refused to supply any lethal weaponry to Afghanistan and has limited its outreach to supplying military transport vehicles and some unarmed helicopters apart from providing military training to around 1000 Afghan security personnel every year in India.
“I want to assure that there had been no incident of gunfight”, Mansoor said while speaking in Pashto. Both the countries have also reactivated their communication channels.
ISIS is attacking a weakened Taliban in a bid to take over the Afghanistan terror group’s territory, it has been claimed. We need to recognise this, as well as understand that our stakes are comparatively smaller than those countries which have land borders with Afghanistan. For that reason, the Obama administration is seeking Islamabad’s help. She will also call on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for a meeting.
Vivek Kumar, a New Delhi-based journalist, says Indian and Pakistani interests have always clashed in Afghanistan and he does not foresee a major change in these dynamics. Fourteen countries are taking part in the deliberations.
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The meeting between national security advisor AjitDoval and his new Pakistani counterpart Lt Gen (Retd) Nasir Khan Janjua, marks the beginning of a thaw in India-Pakistan relations.
