This is Hassan Khan official blog. Here in Hassan Khan will post his views and news about Pakistan, Afghanistan and South Asia/Central Asia region. The major focus of the writings will be - as per Hassan's expertes- on the developments related to political, security and strategic issues across the Durand Line in both Pakistan and Afghanistan- the hot bed of news.
Pakistan decision of restricting the mobility of Afghan national in the country and stopping visa issuance on arrival at airports or entry points is a wrong decision. The decision speaks of shortsightedness of the Pakistan policy makers. The decision is taken on the plea that Pakistan is facing terror threats from western borders. This is totally false as millions of Afghan nationals are living in Pakistan for decades as refugees and they never been found involved in major crimes.The decision will no doubt affect the Pakistan economy as hundreds of thousands Afghans are currently engaged in various businesses in Pakistan generating millions of dollars. Islamabad needs to revisit this policy and allow Afghan unrestricted movement.
A video is doing rounds on the social media of Afghan children throwing stones at some vehicles stated to be American. Some of us are thrilled with jingoistic write ups and with limited or pseudo knowledge claiming another empire bites the dust or the country being the graveyard of empires.
Which empire has become a graveyard? London, Moscow and Washington are glittering. If there's a graveyard it is Afghanistan. We sit in our cosy homes applauding the ghairat of Afghans. Most of their rentier warlords sit in Pakistan, Iran, India etc fighting proxy wars and destroying their own country and having their own youth killed at industrial scale. These warlords have earned huge money through acting as proxies, drug/weapon smuggling and taxing an ignorant and poverty ridden community. Imagine Tajik weapon smugglers supplying weapons to the Taliban smuggled from Central Asia.
As I would drive through the Afghan countryside during my visits to various cities there, my heart would break to see the poverty and misery of the common people. Two scenes have become indelible; one night as I was driving over to a diplomatic function in temperatures touching minus 12 degrees centigrade, I saw a 8 - 10 year old boy sitting on the icy road shivering and crying. I asked the driver to stop and inquire. The boy a street beggar had not collected enough money that day to buy bread for his family. I could not hold back my tears. I gave him 200 rupees to go home and buy bread. The relief on the child's face I will never forget. At the diplomatic function I saw the warlords sipping the choicest drinks both alcoholic and non alcoholic. The other was a boy of similar age in snow covered Kabul selling toilet rolls outside Pul e Khashti mosque.
All the Afghan warlords, regional and extra regional powers are all partners in this crime being committed on the Afghan people for the past almost two centuries. I can only pray that these proxies in Afghanistan and their backers elsewhere realise their crime and stop fighting.
courtesy Saad Muhammad
Islamabad
US wanted the Afghan Taliban to announce ceasefire immediately for a minimum of six months period, offering the militia a good representation in future afghan caretaker set up as talks between US and Afghan Taliban proceeds for 2nd day. The UAE based talks between the two adversaries are brokered by Pakistan.
On the second day of the talks in Abu Dhabi the discussion primarily focused around the future of foreign forces in Afghanistan, US is also seeking a possibility of Ceasefire agreement for duration of six-month.
Taliban source said US is more focus on ceasefire and Taliban representation in future caretaker afghan Govt but taliban is so far resisting and not agreeing to ceasefire as it will benefit the US and Afghan govt not Taliban.
Source further said Taliban wants Saudi Arabia ,Pakistan UAE as guarantor of peace process and then The US appoint Taliban nominated head of future afghan govt then we can consider ceasefire,
On second day talks two ex Guantanamo bay prisoners mullah fazil and mullah khairullah also joined the talks.
In three days talks with US besides Qatar political office three member special delegation which also consist of representative of Haqani network send by Taliban Amir mullah Haibatullah to take part in dialogue.
Taliban Spox issued a new statement to clarify that Taliban team will not meet afghan govt negotiations team.
Zabihullah Mujahid objected to Afghan media reports and said ‘We once again reject these reports. Discussions are taking place with the representatives of the United States about ending the occupation, a matter that does not concern the Kabul administration whatsoever.
Afghan President office also said The Afghan negotiating team led by chief negotiator Abdul Salam Rahimi in Abu Dhabi to begin proximity dialogue with the Taliban delegation and to prepare for a Face-to-face meeting between the two sides.
Earlier PM Imran khan tweeted that Pakistan help start the dialogue between US and afghan Taliban and will be doing everything in its power to further the peace process and end the afghan people suffering.
By Ayaz Khan
Pakistan brokered peace talks between US and Afghan Taliban will continue for 2nd day.
Pakistan reportedly have paved the way for direct talks of US and Afghan Taliban after US president Donald Trump letter to PM Imran khan sought support of Islamabad in peace talks with Taliban.
Afghan Taliban Monday said their negotiators reiterated demand for end to ‘foreign invasion ,and also reconstruction of Afghanistan ’ in talks with the US officials in the United Arab Emirates.
Sources close to the process said Taliban want a time frame of US troops withdrawal from Afghanistan not immediate withdrawal which shows flexibility in Taliban stance previously afghan Taliban put withdrawal as a pre condition to the talks, source further said Taliban believes that reconstruction of war torn Afghanistan is huge task and it cannot be done with out US and world assistance and help taliban also positioning itself as a good partner in reconstruction of Afghanistan as they believe their track record (when in power) is free of corruption.
It’s also shows significant departure and flexibility in stance which Taliban previously held.
Afghanistan national security adviser and govt officials are also in Abu Dhabi UAE but taliban refused to meet them,
Source says it was an embarrassment the afghan govt negotiations team waited in hotel lobby but taliban didn’t meet them.
After taliban refusal to talk directly to afghan team the national security adviser Hamdullah mohib posted a statement on Twitter used term proximity talks, a kind of talks by which he means near to the talking table if not on table.
It was not a mere coincidence that the US point person for talking to Taliban Zalmi Khalilzad and a senior delegation of the Taliban militia political office in Qatar were in Islamabad the same day.
The visit of Taliban delegation kept secret while Khalilzad spent a busy time meeting with Pakistani leadership.
Whether Khalilzad met with Taliban delegation members in Islamabad? No one heard about that but experts believed that it was quite possible.
Khalilzad is on his second visit to Islamabad and will be visiting eight other countries, before landing at United Arab Emirate capital for his schedule meeting with Taliban leaders.
In Islamabad Khalilzad wanted to seek Pakistani support - as requested in a letter written by his boss US President Donald Trump to Pakistani prime minister.
Historically, both President Trump and Khalilzad are known to be irrevocably averse to Pakistan and have time and again made their anti Pakistan sentiments public. It will be naive to suggest to the Pakistani leadership dealing with foreign policy affairs to be aware of the improvised change of mind of Trump-Khalilzad, however, as just soft reminder ' to be (aware)' before leaping into action on their behalf.
To the request put in the letter, Pakistan shall not exhibit any extraordinary haste like the one already exhibited by Khalilzad in talks with Taliban. Pakistan needs be careful in rolling out the red carpets. Please.
It has been observed that proxies and woofers of US in Pakistan have already started mounting the moving float of what they think is politically principled. They are raising questions about nauseatingly repetitive 'good Taliban' and asking who issued travel documents to Taliban negotiators? After all the question is valid, as how the Taliban delegations is visiting Pakistan? And on which country documents?
Of Taliban delegation in Islamabad and their reported meeting with the militia supreme leader Mulla Haibatullah. There are rumors the delegation also called on Khalilzad secretly. Very well. But where? Somebody must tell who other is Khalilzad going to talk to or meet and where? In Pul e Charkhi jail or caves of Paktika or town of Chaman? And be ware that President Trump is not seeking help from Pakistan for to see Mullah Fazlur Rehman or Hafiz Muhammad Saeed. Both Trump and Khalilzad are not requesting to be able to negotiate with Afghan Taliban with Pakistan's help. Talks with Taliban members are already there and in mid of current December Khalilzad will again see the militia members probably in Dubai. Its not asking Taliban to set with the US. But indeed convincing the Taliban to talk to Afghan government led by Dr Ashraf Ghani - a proposal Taliban are vehemently denying. The other demand, the US probably have, is forcing Taliban militia to announce immediate ceasefire...as the talks goes on.
The self appointed warriors of political morality who are asking Pakistan to jump the US bandwagon, must understand, if surly they don't know, what is the game plan.
This is the time Pakistani must ask the US and Afghan government to talk straight and put all the cards on the table before going to the room. Past is not a good experience.
Then. As the Taliban delegation is in Pakistan, on what papers? On whose permissions? The US has not yet declare Taliban negotiators as white. And the US is not going to take responsibility for their travel; nor has sought any permission for their travel officially from the UN Security Council. If Washington wants then why the delay? Both things US does not appear to have done and for a good reason perhaps. The trick might be that if talks fail as happened in Murree or QCG in recent past, Pakistan will be there to be whipped, and the likes of Zalmi Khalilzads and Bruce Riedels be unleashed to pounce upon Islamabad for - might be - violating sacrosanct sanctions regime.
Meanwhile, besides Pakistan, Taliban leadership also have to revisit the recent history of direct talks with the US. Zalmi has been re-inducted into the talks after his fateful failure last time, for which he had his bloated ambitiousness only to blame.What is the guarantee that he has been fumigated this time around?
The next point to consider is that the US showed similar eagerness and rush last time when talks were held in Murree where reasonable progress for peace in Afghanistan had become visible.
And,with in days they killed Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansur in a drone strike. Their doormat in Afghanistan wasted no time to officially complain to Security Council about travel ban violation by Pakistan. US actually shot themselves in the foot by this utterly thoughtless killing as he might have been their last hope for a political settlement in Afghanistan.
Finally they might begin with by asking US to unveil their strategic intent; Does the US want to permanently stay in that country or leave honorably that is with a notion of victory?
Strategic haziness will not work as defeat is staring at Resolute Support Mission right in the face.
The interview of Prime Minister Imran Khan with select group of anchors on Monday has added more confusion to the already plagued state of affairs in Pakistan particularly on economic, security and political
fronts.
Imran Khan interviews reminded me of a program on Khyber television, where Imran Khan was part of the panel along with former MNA Kashmala Tariq. It was 2005 or 2006.
In the middle of program Miss Tariq turned her face to Imran Khan and quite bluntly tells him; "Mr... you are speaking lie with a straight face."
On Monday, the prime minister right from his statements on issue of falling prices of rupee/raising prices of dollars by State bank of Pakistan; to his statements on the issue of missing
persons; to Akhtar Mengal's inability to meet Chief of Army staff Gen Qamar Bajwa on the issue; there is a spree of clarifications ducking the PM totally.
The Prime Minister said it with straight face that 'he came to know about the hike in dollar price via media. Here come the State Bank of Pakistan. The bank clarified that prior taking the decision it informed the government a day earlier. Whom
did the State Bank informed? The finance minister Asad Umar - a man who manages the country economy at the moment. But Asad has
already accepted in a media interaction that he was informed by the bank; and he in return informed
the prime minister about the bank decision. A lie with a straight face, Mr Khan.
Then comes the statement about the issue of missing persons. Imran Khan
during his election campaign already promised to work for recovery of all missing
persons.
But when reminded on Monday, he said, the issue has been debated thoroughly with the
military leadership. The military leadership agreed to pursue the matter. And
he called the Baloch nationalist leader Akhtar Jan Mengal – as Mengal has joined
the coalition on issue of recovering missing persons- to meet
with chief of army staff Gen Qamar Bajwa. Akhtar Mengal did
not turned out for the meeting, said the prime minister.
But what happen a day latter? Akhtar Mengal – a highly respected
politician- responded on his social media netwrok – twitter. The PM never told
him about meeting with COAS. However, when he did receive a call from the prime minister office, when he was busy in by election campaign in remove areas of Baluchistan. But the call said, “tomorrow you
(Mengal) has a meeting with Prime Minister.” As I was not able to reach Islamabad on such a short notice, and the matter too gone silent. Mengal said he is all time available for meeting with
any person including Gen Bajwa on the issue anytime anywhere.
And the PM got a bloody nose.
Overall, the prime minister extended media interview turned out
to be a disappointing performance. All the time during his interview he was untruthful,
waffling, professing ignorance and avoiding straight answers to simple questions.
On the issue of external policy affairs, the PM was either dodgy
or speaking lie, as said, with ‘a straight face’.
Initially, Prime Minister was giving an impression that he has already taken charge of the external policy
formulation. But again look at the analogy he was making of Pakistan
security establishment with that of Pentagon influence on US on foreign affairs.
This was comparing oranges with apples. Pentagon does not have veto power,
while Pakistan security top establishment does have; as history is a witness.
Nobody was expecting the PM to
be 'nonsense' on crucial questions related to country bad economy. When he was having no answers he would digress to corruption, corrupt political elites and loans that the previous
government had taken.
Pakistanis are sick and tired of these dodgy rhetoric. Prime Minister should have either proceeded against the corrupt or shut this ifs and buts. A
number of times Khan had to be reminded to come to the point as often he gone off the
track. .
It was astonishing for all
to hear, the country's Prime Minister - the top executive authority - telling the nation he learned via media of fall of rupee
against the dollar. Its total nonsense Mr. PM. People especially the business community have lost
billions of their hard earned money or savings worth billions of rupees. You are playing ignorant or speaking lie "with straight face". You didn't know because the State Bank is autonomous. This is annoying
No doubt, its quite disturbing that
the prime minister Khan was having no idea of how to rejuvenate the economy. how to work for wealth creation. But of all the years, or month in government, what you have all learned only is like the essay of a proverbial student who memorized the essay on 'Hockey
Match'. And he would reproduce the same essay regardless of what was asked in the test. Niazi
only knows corruption and loans. He repeats it ad nauseam, rightly says a post on
social media. God help us all.
Islamabad remained quite busy on Tuesday December 4, 2018. Two
important delegations were in the town to discuss and carry forward the Afghan
peace process initiated by the US with the Taliban militia leaders. The same
day Islamabad also announced that her foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi
will be visiting Kabul next week.
Of the two delegations, the most important was the senior
Taliban members from Qatar office, as reports say, visit to Pakistan. Reports say
the team was called by the militia supreme leader Mulla Haibatullah for, what analysts
say, consultation. The team would also share the progress so far made in
meetings with US administration.
The other important team was of the US administration led by
Washington top point-man for Afghan peace process, Zalmi Khalilzad. Zalmi is primarily
tasked to broker a deal with Taliban followed the visiting Taliban delegation
to Islamabad – that reached here a day earlier. Both delegations seem to be the
follow up of letter written by US administration to Pakistan seeking her
role in the Afghan peace process. Zamli is meeting with Islamabad top political and
security leadership and will be sharing the points over which some progress has been
made so far with Taliban members of the militia political Qatar in office. All efforts are aimed at ending the decades long
Afghan conflict.
The visit of Zalmi Khalilzad was public and announced
affairs.While, the visit of Taliban delegation led by Qatar office top boss
Abass Stanakzai, was a secret affair and not
confirmed officially. Keeping the Taliban leadership’s visit secret from media
and public was quite obvious.
Reports say the Taliban delegation was here on the
instructions of Taliban supreme leader Mulla Haibatullah. The delegation was
called by Mulla Haibatullah for consultations with militia senior shura members.
Mulla Haibatullah wanted to hear directly from the members of his
negotiation team the progress so far made in talks and meeting with US and other countries.
The Taliban members are scheduled to be meeting with Mulla
Haibatulla and other shura members of the militia either somewhere in Pakistan
or in Afghanistan- in both cases near Pak-Afghan border.
The peace agreements with insurgents in Afghanistan is fast
taking a shape. One thing is disturbing – that is Zalmi Khalilzad extraordinary haste
in brokering a deal with Taliban insurgents. He is seems to be playing a typical
‘businessman’ wanting to strike a business-like peace deal with Taliban. He may
be. Because he has target to meet. His boss, Donald Trump desires of “getting
the hill out of Afghanistan” as soon as possible.
The visit of Taliban delegation and Zalmi Khalilzad to
Islamabad are the immediate follow up of the letter, the US president Donald Trump,
wrote to Pakistan leadership seeking Islamabad's role in the peace talks that
has already begun with Taliban. Trump has admired Pakistan role in Afghanistan
and appreciated sacrifices offered by Pakistanis in war against terror.
What US wants from Pakistan?
In Pakistan analysts believed as US and Taliban are already
in contacts with each others and have a number of meetings in Qatar and UAE and
other cities. Then what the US wants from Pakistan. Not mere bringing Taliban
to the negotiating table. But more. For US the big challenge is to convince
Taliban include Afghan government in talks process. And announcement of immediate
ceasefire by militia fighters.
The US is interested in Pakistan to come forward and press Taliban to accept – inclusion of Afghan government representatives and a ceasefire
and continue talking.
Pakistan has no doubt a role to play in resolution of Afghan
conflict. The Afghans and US officials religiously believed Pakistan still have
an influence over Taliban leadership. A fact Pakistan is denying. Islamabad’s
influence is very limited over the militia leadership, Pakistan claims.
This is immaterial how much influence Pakistan have over the
militia leadership. Important point is Pakistan must play a sincere role in peace
negotiation. No doubt, if Pakistan play its part sincerely and positively approach
the Taliban with a positive mindset Taliban can be influenced.
Now as Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi is also
visiting Kabul next week, Qureshi shall take into confidence Afghan leadership
into confidence what Pakistan intended to do in ending the conflict. Better
Pakistan play its ball with Afghan administration. Forgetting the past
experiences, Islamabad be better in a strong supportive role.
