Book Launch: ‘Afghanistan: Mulla Umar se Ashraf Ghani Tak’ | Dialogue: ’19 Years of the US in Afghanistan’

Afghan Peace Process | Spoilers will be the biggest losers in end game: Former Foreign Secretary Ambassador (r) Salman Bashir

Ambassador
(r) Salman Bashir, Pakistan’s former Foreign Secretary has said that the
international and regional spoilers conspiring against the Afghan peace process
would themselves be the biggest losers in the end game.

He was addressing the launch of Pakistan’s former ambassador to Afghanistan, Ambassador (retd) Syed Abrar Hussain’s memoirs Afghanistan: Mulla Umar se Ashraf Ghani Tak recently published by IPS Press – the publishing arm of Institute of Policy Studies, Islamabad – which also included a roundtable discussion on the recent developments in Afghanistan after 19 years of US invasion. 

Ambassador
(r) Syed Abrar Hussain has served as a Pakistani diplomat in Afghanistan on
more than one occasion, whereas most of his service in the foreign ministry was
also with the Afghanistan desk. The writer witnessed history being made during
all this time, while having an opportunity to observe various landmark events
very closely. Personal accounts of historic events from Mulla Umar’s era and
during Ashraf Ghani’s time, a rich commentary on the history of Pak-Afghan
relations and also insights into the Afghan peace process are key features of
the fascinating memoirs. The author has also presented an admissible strategy
at the end of the publication for the amelioration of Pak-Afghan relations,
which should be looked at by the policy circles of both sides with sincerity
and honesty. The given recommendations not only have the potential to improve
bilateral relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, but can also pave way for
achieving sustainable, long-lasting peace in the region.

Chaired
and hosted by Khalid Rahman, executive president, IPS, the session held on
October 9, 2020 was addressed, among others, by Ambassador (r) Abdul Basit,
Ambassador (r) Ayaz Wazir, Brig (r) Said Nazir Mohmand, Air Cdr (r) Khalid
Iqbal, Ammara Durrani, senior research fellow, Jinnah Institute, Afghan
scholars Professor Haroon Khatibi and Naseer Ahmed Naveedi from Center for
Strategic and Regional Studies (CSRS), Kabul, Dr Adnan Sarwar Khan, former
dean, Peshawar University, and senior journalists Faizullah Khan (ARY) and
Naimat Khan (Arab News).

Ammara
Durrani was of the view that international media and academia does not give
much space to Pakistani perspective in geopolitics and there are hardly any
Pakistani commentators visible. Pakistan must make use of its diplomats and
train them to help set Pakistani narrative through mainstream and social media
at the global stage.

Commending
the book she said that such efforts need to be amplified so that the
generations of today in Afghanistan and Pakistan should know the pre-9/11
history of both the nations.

Ambassaor
(r) Basit presented a different view stating that Taliban claim themselves as
“Islamic Emirate” and as an ideological movement their strength did not lie in
democracy as any such move would only break their organization and end their
clout. They may never become part of any democratic government in a republican
Afghanistan.

He
feared that there may not be any intra-Afghan reconciliation in the end and the
development may only prove to be an effort to buy or consume some time.
Pakistan on the other hand should stay prepared for any such scenarios, and
instead of taking credit for the peace process and taking the burden of more
responsibilities in the process, should try to carve out a backup strategy as
well, bringing all stakeholders on one page, developing a consistent policy and
they propagating effectively through a well-formed narrative.

The speakers in general were unanimous that it was essential for Pakistani narrative to reach out to the world outside. It was also rued that there are many recent books available by Indian authors and researchers on Afghanistan, but any presentable work by a Pakistani author on the subject up till now was hard to find.

The
experts underscored the need for utilizing the wealth of knowledge Pakistan’s
foreign policy practitioners possessed, suggesting that the training of
Pakistan’s former high commissioners and ambassadors on efficient use of
conventional and social media for indigenous knowledge production could be a
useful tool to further the country’s foreign policy objectives. Abrar Hussain’s
publication, they viewed, could be seen as a valuable resource in this regard.

It was also stressed that alongside taking
on-ground steps, Pakistan should also focus on effectively propagating its
narrative internationally by apprising the world what the country has done for
Afghanistan and regional peace so far and where it will be headed to in the
future.