Sept 12, 2024
By Rana Malhi and Rehan Piracha
LAHORE:
On September 11, Ali Amin Gandapur, Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, announced in Peshawar his plan to send a delegation to Kabul to hold talks with the Afghan Taliban in an effort to bring peace to his restive province. In a strong response, Federal Defence Minister Khawaja Asif called Gandapur’s move a “direct attack on the federation”.
The chief minister’s announcement came during his address to a gathering of lawyers, representatives of bar councils, ministers and parliamentarians at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House in Peshawar. “As a leader of the province, I will personally speak to the Afghan government. I will send a delegation to Afghanistan. I will speak to them and through negotiations, I will resolve this issue and save lives,” he said.
Gandapur said he had raised concerns about militancy, as well as the growing loss of faith among the police and public in the provincial government, with his federal counterparts — but to no avail.
“I requested permission to engage with the Afghan government, considering they are our neighbour. We share the same language and a 1,200 km-long border… Is our blood thinner than water? How long can we tolerate this?” he questioned.
A day after Gandapur’s remarks, on September 12, Khwaja Asif addressed the National Assembly and termed Gandapur’s announcement an attempt to exacerbate the already strained relationship between the federal government and the opposition Tehrik-e-Insaf. “KP CM has talked of holding direct talks with [Afghan Taliban] government. It is a direct attack on the federation”.
He said no provincial governments could hold negotiations with foreign countries under the constitution.
Asif remarked that the KP CM’s announcement was a continuation of the provocative statements made against the federal government during the PTI public gathering in Islamabad on September 8 – “The path the KP CM is taking, along with his party, will prove poisonous for the country.”
He also said that he was trying to be cautious given the Speaker National Assembly’s efforts to unite the house after the PTI parliamentarians were arrested during a police operation at the Parliament House.
“Federal government cannot stop any foreign visits”
Earlier, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, Foreign Office Spokesperson, told Voicepk.net that the government cannot prevent a citizen from travelling to a foreign country. “We will comment on it once an official request is sent to the ministry”.
She added that any Pakistani citizen may visit any country, and that the federal government cannot stop any foreign visits.
“A private delegation to Kabul would not be taken seriously by the Afghan government”
Abdul Basit, a former foreign diplomat, explained to Voicepk.net the procedure provincial governments must follow for official visits to foreign countries, including Afghanistan – “Provinces are required to obtain a No Objection Certificate from Islamabad before undertaking visits abroad or entering into any agreements.”
Basit pointed out that government officials with diplomatic passports, such as the KP Chief Minister, must seek permission from the federal government for private visits abroad.
In his opinion, a stand-alone visit of a provincial government would not lead to resolving the complex Pak-Afghan relationship and bringing peace to the volatile region. Besides, he said, “A private provincial delegation to Kabul would not be treated seriously by the Afghan Taliban government”.
In his view, the provincial chief minister should engage with the federal government and other stakeholders to develop a strategy for negotiations with the Afghan Taliban in Kabul.
He also underscored the Foreign Office’s stated position of holding no talks with the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan. “The TTP must accept the constitution and the writ of the state before it is considered for any negotiations,” he added.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused armed groups affiliated with the TTP of launching attacks from Afghanistan, alleging that the Afghan Taliban government provides them with a safe haven. The Taliban government in Kabul, however, denies these allegations. Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have significantly deteriorated over the past two years, marked by numerous border skirmishes that have frequently led to the closure of border crossings.