Pakistan’s absence in Bonn conference won’t make a difference: Kabul

[President Camacho]

Pakistan’s absence in Bonn conference won’t make a difference: Kabul

As the parliamentary committee on national security endorsed on Friday the federal cabinet’s decision of not attending the Bonn Conference on Afghanistan, a spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Islamabad’s boycott would have no negative impact, Tolonews reported.

The conference will go ahead as planned and the international community will discuss their commitments to Afghanistan beyond 2014, Karzai’s spokesman Emal Faizi said.

Pakistan had always said it was part of the solution of Afghan problems, Faizi said, adding if that really was Pakistan’s stance, then it should understand the importance of its participation in the conference.

However, he reiterated, if Pakistan doesn’t attend, it won’t make a difference.

“Pakistan has decided not to attend. I once again stress that this will have no negative impact, as the agenda of the conference is fully focused on Afghanistan’s future,” Faizi said.

“Of course a part of the agenda will focus on peace talks with anti-government armed groups, and if Pakistan wants to play a role, the conference will give it a chance,” Faizi added.

Karzai offered to protect Taliban from ISI:

While quarters in Afghanistan play down the importance of Pakistan’s attendance at the Bonn Conference, Karzai, in a failed attempt to find peace partners free from the influence of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), offered Taliban leaders living in Pakistan resettlement packages for their families, The Guardian revealed.

Quoting Afghan officials, The Guardian reported that the Afghan president’s effort to find representatives to talk for the insurgents were scuppered by their unwillingness to jeopardise families given sanctuary in Pakistan, where they claim to live under the sway of the ISI.

The initiative shows the desire of Karzai’s government to peel away a faction within the Quetta Shura, the report said.

A diplomat in Kabul said families of high-ranking Taliban are often moved around Pakistan against their will and live under a loose house arrest. To overcome the problem the Afghan government, with Nato backing, hatched secret plans to move entire families to protected areas in Afghanistan.

“Such an operation would be difficult but not impossible,” said a senior Afghan government official who did not wish to be named. “We have a red line on allowing our security forces to conduct operations inside Pakistan, but we were prepared to move the families. It would not have been a James Bond-style operation. We would have just used a few henchmen.”

The effort never came to anything though, he said, and the most recent offers to move families are on hold after the assassination of Karzai’s peace envoy Burhanuddin Rabbani. After Rabbani’s death in September the Afghan president abandoned efforts to talk to the Taliban, saying he would engage directly with Pakistan.

Foreign experts and Afghan officials say the issue of families is a big stumbling block to peace efforts, giving the ISI an iron grip over the Taliban. “Every Taliban commander has his family in Pakistan,” alleged a former Afghan official who has met the insurgents’ representatives in the past.

He said the ISI tried to ensure all high-ranking Taliban kept their families in Pakistan.

“It is a deliberate policy of the ISI, who cannot trust people to fight unless they bring their family to Pakistan,” the official claimed.

 

[53fd]

This is what the Afghan president had to say:

http://www.dawn.com/2011/11/29/karzai-urges-pakistan-to-reconsider-bonn-boycott.html

This is what others have said on this issue:

Germany urges Pakistan to attend Afghan talks | World | DAWN.COM

US urges Pakistan to reconsider Bonn talks boycott – The Express Tribune

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

Bonn Conference 'Useless' without Pakistan: Afghan MP

ISLAMABAD: An Afghan parliamentarian, Huma Sultani, has said that the Bonn Conference would be useless without Pakistan’s participation.

In an exclusive interview with Online on phone from Kabul, the member of the Wolesi Jirga or Lower House of the parliament from Ghazni said that the Bonn Conference will fail to produce any result for peace and stability in Afghanistan as the parties to the conflict, Taliban and Hizb-e-Islami, have rejected it.

“Now when Pakistan, an important stakeholder of peace in the region, is also boycotting the US-backed conference, its failure is inevitable,” she added. Huma Sultani said that as a matter of fact, the international community was not serious in restoring peace in Afghanistan and the conference was only called in to forward agenda of the US in the region. “Europe is passing through an economic recession and they could not donate much to Afghanistan as they can hardly bear expenses of their own soldiers,” she further said while commenting on post 2014 support by the EU to Afghanistan.

The parliamentarian claimed that only she was in contact with Taliban Supreme Commander Mullah Omar, who, she said, was ready for peace talks. “But the Karzai administration and his foreigner supporters are not serious in holding peace talks.”

“None of the Pakistani officials, including the prime minister and the military leadership, have access to Mullah Omar for the last one year and I again say that only I have contact with him. Even top leader of Haqqani network cannot meet him, though they may have some telephonic contacts,” she claimed. Sultani suggested a government of the neutral, sincere and patriotic people in Afghanistan. This suggestion is even acceptable to Mullah Omar, the parliamentarian said.

The Wolesi Jirga member said she was making efforts for peace in Afghanistan by being a mediator between President Karzai and Mullah Omar but it seemed useless as Karzai was not serious in peace talks.

She said the Afghanistan government has banned free media in the country and her voice was not being given due coverage.

Bonn Conference useless without Pakistan: Afghan MP

 

[Adnan Faruqi]

Bonn Conference 'Useless' without Pakistan: Afghan MP




Bonn Conference useless without Pakistan: Afghan MP

I don't know about ur reading abilities but the thread's news says something said by President of Afghanistan and you are comparing a president with some tom, dick harry's opinion??????

There are dozens/hundreds of MPs in every country but what matters is the official version the govt.

 

[Safriz]

as well wishers of afghanistan we can.only hope that they finally grown out of spoon feeding from pakistan and akistan wont have to change their soed diapers anymore as in clearkng the mess they been creating since ever.
good that they are now able to work without pakistan...that will be a great releif for pakistan.
although we all know karzai s words have no value.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

so according to your ''genius'' logic, everything here must be attributed to karzai and his lines?

i wonder then why Angela Merkell has been losing sleep every night trying to beg Pakistanis not to withdraw from the event (which it appears we have anyways --since it is going on as I type this)

I am happy however to see that dissent is seemingly more acceptable now than it was before in Afghan politics; a sign of some maturation. Karzai is known to be a master flip-flopper anyways, depending on who his audience is at the time.

and no need for indians like you to analyze my reading abilities; to be honest, i dont even know who you are or from when/where you barged in on here.

 

[sachin@india]

so according to your ''genius'' logic, everything here must be attributed to karzai and his lines?

i wonder then why Angela Merkell has been losing sleep every night trying to beg Pakistanis not to withdraw from the event (which it appears we have anyways --since it is going on as I type this)

I am happy however to see that dissent is seemingly more acceptable now than it was before in Afghan politics; a sign of some maturation. Karzai is known to be a master flip-flopper anyways, depending on who his audience is at the time.

come on dude.. don't use this kind words.

 

[53fd]

I don't know about ur reading abilities but the thread's news says something said by President of Afghanistan and you are comparing a president with some tom, dick harry's opinion??????

There are dozens/hundreds of MPs in every country but what matters is the official version the govt.

Karzai doesn't have any credibility. One day he praises the US & criticizes Pakistan, the next day he praises Pakistan & criticizes the US, the third day he criticizes the Taliban, the next day, he wants to 'save' them from the Pakistani ISI.

 

[Ajaxpaul]

Pakistan’s absence in Bonn conference won’t make a difference: Kabul

As the parliamentary committee on national security endorsed on Friday the federal cabinet’s decision of not attending the Bonn Conference on Afghanistan, a spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Islamabad’s boycott would have no negative impact, Tolonews reported.

The conference will go ahead as planned and the international community will discuss their commitments to Afghanistan beyond 2014, Karzai’s spokesman Emal Faizi said.

Pakistan had always said it was part of the solution of Afghan problems, Faizi said, adding if that really was Pakistan’s stance, then it should understand the importance of its participation in the conference.

However, he reiterated, if Pakistan doesn’t attend, it won’t make a difference.

“Pakistan has decided not to attend. I once again stress that this will have no negative impact, as the agenda of the conference is fully focused on Afghanistan’s future,” Faizi said.

“Of course a part of the agenda will focus on peace talks with anti-government armed groups, and if Pakistan wants to play a role, the conference will give it a chance,” Faizi added.

Karzai offered to protect Taliban from ISI:

While quarters in Afghanistan play down the importance of Pakistan’s attendance at the Bonn Conference, Karzai, in a failed attempt to find peace partners free from the influence of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), offered Taliban leaders living in Pakistan resettlement packages for their families, The Guardian revealed.

Quoting Afghan officials, The Guardian reported that the Afghan president’s effort to find representatives to talk for the insurgents were scuppered by their unwillingness to jeopardise families given sanctuary in Pakistan, where they claim to live under the sway of the ISI.

The initiative shows the desire of Karzai’s government to peel away a faction within the Quetta Shura, the report said.

A diplomat in Kabul said families of high-ranking Taliban are often moved around Pakistan against their will and live under a loose house arrest. To overcome the problem the Afghan government, with Nato backing, hatched secret plans to move entire families to protected areas in Afghanistan.

“Such an operation would be difficult but not impossible,” said a senior Afghan government official who did not wish to be named. “We have a red line on allowing our security forces to conduct operations inside Pakistan, but we were prepared to move the families. It would not have been a James Bond-style operation. We would have just used a few henchmen.”

The effort never came to anything though, he said, and the most recent offers to move families are on hold after the assassination of Karzai’s peace envoy Burhanuddin Rabbani. After Rabbani’s death in September the Afghan president abandoned efforts to talk to the Taliban, saying he would engage directly with Pakistan.

Foreign experts and Afghan officials say the issue of families is a big stumbling block to peace efforts, giving the ISI an iron grip over the Taliban. “Every Taliban commander has his family in Pakistan,” alleged a former Afghan official who has met the insurgents’ representatives in the past.

He said the ISI tried to ensure all high-ranking Taliban kept their families in Pakistan.

“It is a deliberate policy of the ISI, who cannot trust people to fight unless they bring their family to Pakistan,” the official claimed.

In your face..ouch !!

 

[Emmie]

Karzai is the king of all liars and hypocrites... Afghanistan peace cannot be achieved if this dissimulator continues his office.

If Pakistan wasn't important for Bonn then the world wouldn't have been asking Pakistan to attend it again and again..

 

[TaimiKhan]

I don't know about ur reading abilities but the thread's news says something said by President of Afghanistan and you are comparing a president with some tom, dick harry's opinion??????

There are dozens/hundreds of MPs in every country but what matters is the official version the govt.

I wonder why were the Germans, US Secretary State / President calling up and asking the Pakistani President / PM / FM to revisit their decision and join the discussion.

Were these western officials stupid to be asking Pakistan to join the conference since they deemed Pakistan to be important of the whole process or are the Afghan officials / president who doesn't even controls Kabul more reliable and reasonable.

 

[sachin@india]

Bonn minus Pakistan

War can be described as a breakdown of communication. When arguments fail, weapons speak their own language. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn’t. In Afghanistan obviously it didn’t. Thirty years of war without a victor and it seems that we have not reached an end yet.
The second Bonn Conference which took place on December 5th in Germany, is an attempt to correct the various mistakes of the past. At least formally, all parties agree that the Afghan conflict cannot be settled my military means. The German government, as a host, has worked hard to eliminate the mistakes of the first Bonn Conference in 2001 that gave the former Northern Alliance a disproportionate representation in the Kabul government and ignored the various democratic forces within Afghanistan andin exile.
Just a week ago, a delegation of the Taliban representatives including Wakil Ahmad Mottawakil, Mullah Salaam Zaeef, Abdul Hakim Mujahid along with Pakistan’s Major-General Athar Abbas and Pashtun leader Mahmud Khan Achakzai were in the German capital to attend background talks. This was a good step in the right direction.
Although it seems that not much has been achieved between the warring parties, it is quite obvious that the peace process needs to be continued. But nothing will happen until both sides are ready for some concessions. The mistake of the US is that its military still believes that it can shoot the Taliban to the negotiating table and that it just needs to raise the pressure on Pakistan to succeed. This is a gross miscalculation, as the fallout of the Salala tragedy has shown.
Pakistan has several reasons to be upset with Washington. But, by boycotting the Bonn conference, Pakistan is barking up the wrong tree. The relationship between Pakistan and the US is very complex and this has to be solved on a bilateral level. It is dangerous to make the Afghan peace process a hostage to everything that went wrong between these former partners. The Bonn conference is a multilateral attempt to bring all stakeholders together and it would have provided Pakistan an opportunity to engage constructively in the peace process.
Unfortunately, Pakistan’s policymakers suffer from an unhealthy fixation on Washington that prevents them from interacting with other stakeholders. It is true that the European Union and Germany, in particular, are not the main players in Afghanistan. However, they do play a role and they might be more open to Pakistan’s position compared to the currentUS government. But making new friends or engaging old ones (except China), seems to not be a part of Islamabad’s strategy. For now, it seems to be happy having spoiled the game.
This is short-sighted because Pakistan is not strong enough to fight on all fronts. In fact, it cannot even afford the present confrontation as seen by the state of its economic and development indicators. As it is often said, Pakistan is suffering the most from the war on terror. But it is suffering from its own strategy as well. Eating grass in order to uphold one’s national pride is not really a good idea. Who has respect for a country that cannot provide basic goods and services to its people? Economic growth and human development would be a better basis for the sustainable success of the nation.
Pakistan urgently needs to make friends who understand its legitimate interests in the wider security set-up of South and Central Asia. But that needs communication, in fact, a lot of it. My own organisation is constantly engaged in bringing Pakistani speakers to Germany. But much more needs to be done. If Pakistan feels misunderstood by almost everybody, it needs to review its own communication strategy.
The Bonn conference would have provided an opportunity to Pakistan to explain its position on Afghanistan to the world. It is not that there are no arguments. A political process means explaining one’s own position over and over again and sometimes even reviewing it. This holds true for the US as well. But if we increasingly trust the power of weapons more than the power of words, only war can be the result.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 6th, 2011.

 

[Sher Malang]

Bonn Conference 'Useless' without Pakistan: Afghan MP




Bonn Conference useless without Pakistan: Afghan MP

Afghan women's rights MP claims Taliban leader her guest - storyful

Female MP Claims Mullah Omar Is Her Guest in Kabul

‘Bizarre’ peace meeting: Afghan female lawmaker’s tryst with Mullah Omar – The Express Tribune

Taliban Website Rejects Afghan Lawmaker Huma Sultani's Claim That She Hosted Mullah Omar

Will you still believe this woman?

 

[sachin@india]

I wonder why were the Germans, US Secretary State / President calling up and asking the Pakistani President / PM / FM to revisit their decision and join the discussion.

Were these western officials stupid to be asking Pakistan to join the conference since they deemed Pakistan to be important of the whole process or are the Afghan officials / president who doesn't even controls Kabul more reliable and reasonable.

This same people also asked pakistan to do "More" .. what is your take on this ?

 

[Jango]

Pakistan's absence won't make a difference, and neither will the conference itself.