New regime in Afghanistan a reality: Chairman IPS

A delegation of research students from different
universities of Pakistan and Afghanistan visiting IPS on September 27, 2021were
apprised by Khalid Rahman, the Institute’s chairman, on the immense
opportunities enhanced regional connectivity can bring in Afghanistan, Pakistan
and Central Asian Republics in the wake of the US withdrawal from Kabul.

The delegation comprising 21 members was part of the
8th International Summer School at the Bara Gali campus of the University of
Peshawar.

The discussion in the sitting revolved around the
importance of regional connectivity and post US-withdrawal Pak-Afghan relations
with a focus on bilateral trade and people-to-people contact.

Rahman shared his insights on the evolving situation
in Afghanistan, stating that Taliban were a reality which even the Americans
had to accept when they decided to have dialogues with them some years ago.

He said that there was hardly anything done in the
previous Afghan government’s tenure to cater for the vacuum that was certain to
take place following the withdrawal of US forces, and this lack of planning
eventually led to the fall of Kabul without any resistance.

The best way forward for Pakistan and other regional
countries now, he opined, would be to accept the new regime in the country and
try to engage them in a hope to set things in the right direction moving ahead,
he added.