Karzai to Accept Pakistan's Invitation Only if the Agenda is Made Clear

While Karzai has reportedly accepted the invitation of Pakistan Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, he stressed that the agenda of the trip should be first prepared and made clear. Meanwhile, the Afghan High Peace Council (HPC) emphasised that Pakistan should fulfill its commitments regarding the peace process. "I personally believe that the neighbouring countries are taking undue advantage of the Taliban issue. They are using the issue to meet their goals and at the same time ruin Afghanistan," said Ismail Qasimyar, International Advisor for the HPC. The expectations from Pakistan regarding their commitments toward the peace process seem to fade with every passing day. Mr. Qasimyar accused the country of supporting the insurgents and not fulfilling the promises made to the Afghan government. On the contrary, several others criticised Afghanistan's policy against Pakistan. A member of the Right and Justice Party, Moeen Marastyal, urged the international community to put more pressure on Pakistan. He criticised the Afghan government of making dualistic policies and held it equally responsible for the failure of the peace process. "Afghan government should urge the international community to put pressure on Pakistan to cooperate in the peace process," said Mr. Marastyal. Pakistan is has a major role to play in bringing the Taliban to the negotiation table. In light of this, the Afghan government over the past few years has constantly urged Pakistan to honestly participate in the peace process. Unfortunately, Pakistan has always turned a blind eye to all its requests and did things keeping its selfish motives in the forefront. Experts feel that Sartaj Aziz's trip to Kabul will help in improving the relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Afghan government during Aziz's visit repeatedly voiced that the solution for Afghanistan's crisis is in the hands of Pakistan. The new government of Pakistan had invited President Karzai twice to visit the country. However, Karzai did not accept the invitations on the ground that agenda of the meet was not clear from Pakistan's side. President, Hamid Karzai has visited Pakistan 19 times since he came to power, but, none of the trips had any positive outcome.