News
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
Pakistan plays long game in Afghan peace drive
* Islamabad unlikely to help broker peace as long as Jalaluddin Haqqani and his son Sirajuddin are excluded from the process
ISLAMABAD: An Afghan assembly touted by President Hamid Karzai as a home-grown peace initiative is unlikely to produce a blueprint for reconciliation because the drafters do not include the Taliban.
Heavyweights such as the Haqqani group, are not attending the June 2-4 jirga, although Taliban sympathisers may take part. Pakistan, the regional power, is unlikely to help broker peace as long as Jalaluddin Haqqani and his son Sirajuddin Haqqani are excluded from the process.
Analysts say the country is playing the long game, hoping to persuade both Karzai and the White House that peace will not be possible without the participation of al Qaeda-backed Haqqani network, the most potent force in Afghanistan.
“Pakistan is hedging its bets that sooner or later if we can hold out on the Haqqani factor, the US will be ready to include the Haqqani faction on the peace train,” said Simbal Khan, Director of Eurasian Studies at Pakistan’s Institute of Strategic Studies.
But there is little chance the White House will change its position anytime soon and it would prefer to see the Haqqanis dead.
The US is pushing Islamabad to dismantle the Haqqani’s network in North Waziristan, but the government is resisting because a full-scale tribal revolt would be catastrophic for the country.
But analysts say a history of ties and influence may not translate into control of Haqqani’s seasoned fighters, who could easily turn on the country’s forces,.
Troops are already exhausted from drawn-out efforts to contain the Taliban, and can ill-afford to open another front.
Although getting Haqqani’s name on a peace settlement would officially remove one of the biggest threats to US troops and stability in Afghanistan, his history suggests he would be a highly unpredictable participant.
Haqqani has a track record of lining up with whoever can fund or support him. He is believed to have received money and arms from the CIA when he was fighting Soviet troops in Afghanistan.
He then pledged his support for the Taliban, while maintaining his own fiefdoms in Afghanistan and Pakistan, so he could be a spoiler in any peace process. reuters
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk