Afghan leader's visit to Pakistan resolves 13 years of differences

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani wrapped up his two-day visit to Pakistan at the weekend on a positive note as both countries managed to banish yearslong mistrust and build a relationship marked by political, security and economic cooperation.

Ghani pointed out at his joint news conference with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that both countries have "removed the 13 years of differences just in three days".

Pakistan and Afghanistan had long been accusing each other of failing to stop the cross-border movement of the militants who are responsible for attacks on security forces and civilians. Kabul claims Afghan Taliban have hideouts in Pakistan, while Islamabad insists the Pakistani Taliban have fled to Afghanistan and now operate from its border regions.

This blame game has badly affected their joint efforts to fight the insurgents who have claimed the lives of thousands of people, mostly civilians, in both countries.

Ghani's first visit to Pakistan since his inauguration in September provided an opportunity for the leaders to focus on bilateral political engagement, trade and economic cooperation, border security and counterterrorism as well as energy and connectivity.

Sharif reaffirmed Pakistan's support for the intra-Afghan reconciliation process that the new government is initiating. Islamabad's backing of the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace with the Taliban is now urgently needed to hold off any instability following the withdrawal of most of the foreign troops in a few weeks.

Peace process

Concerns about possible intensified fighting are growing in the post-NATO Afghanistan as the Taliban has refused to stop fighting and hold talks with Ghani's government. Sources privy to the Taliban political office in Qatar say the signing of the controversial security pact with the United States to keep troops beyond 2014 has further complicated the peace process.

The Taliban said the Bilateral Security Agreement means a longer war as the US and its NATO allies will keep nearly 12,000 troops even after the endgame.

Afghanistan strongly believes that Pakistan has a deep influence on the Taliban insurgents and it can play a key role to encourage them to sit face to face with Ghani's government.

Officials admit that Pakistan had played the role of facilitator in the opening of the Taliban office in Qatar last year to push for the peace process. Pakistan released nearly 50 senior Afghan Taliban leaders in the past two years at the request of former Afghan president Hamid Karzai to encourage them to join the peace process.

As Ghani wins Sharif's support for peace with the Taliban, Afghanistan will now expect a proactive role from Pakistan in the peace process. Pakistan's top security adviser, Sartaj Aziz, says his country is ready to facilitate the Afghan peace process, and the role will be possible after Kabul takes the initiative to chalk out a strategy for dialogue with the Taliban.

Pakistan's powerful military is also championing the political leadership in its efforts to bury the hatchet of the past and open a new chapter of tension-free bilateral ties.

Ghani's visit also enabled the two counties to boost economic and trade ties as they agreed to double bilateral trade from the current $2.5 billion by the end of 2017. Bilateral trade was only $500 million during the Taliban rule.