{"id":2933,"date":"2019-03-29T19:24:58","date_gmt":"2019-03-29T19:24:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/?p=2933"},"modified":"2019-03-29T19:24:58","modified_gmt":"2019-03-29T19:24:58","slug":"pakistan-austria-roundtable-on-afghanistan-and-regional-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/pakistan-austria-roundtable-on-afghanistan-and-regional-security\/","title":{"rendered":"Pakistan-Austria Roundtable  on  \u201cAfghanistan and Regional Security\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li>The current peace talks between the United States and Taliban need to be more transparent, inclusive and open.<\/li>\n<li>An intra-Afghan dialogue is more important and should be promoted in a way that the Afghan government does not feel excluded and Taliban are also a part of the process.<\/li>\n<li>Any solution for bringing peace and stability in Afghanistan needs to have the support of the Afghanpeople who have suffered more than anyone else in the decades of war and instability.<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-2934\" src=\"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/pak-austria-1024x707.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"696\" height=\"481\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/pak-austria-1024x707.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/pak-austria-300x207.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/pak-austria-768x530.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/pak-austria-100x70.jpg 100w, https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/pak-austria-218x150.jpg 218w, https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/pak-austria-696x481.jpg 696w, https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/pak-austria-1068x737.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/pak-austria-608x420.jpg 608w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" \/><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These were some of the conclusions of the Pakistan-Austria Roundtable on \u201cAfghanistan and Regional Stability\u201d held at the Islamabad Policy Research Institute, here in Islamabad today.The roundtable, moderated by Ambassador (R) Fauzia Nasreen included eminent diplomats who had served in Afghanistan, Austria and Saudi Arabia as well as academics and defence analysts.<\/p>\n<p>Giving his welcome address, <strong><em>Ambassador Vice Admiral (R) Khan Hasham Bin Saddique<\/em><\/strong> said that since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979, the country has witnessed unprecedented violence which has considerably weakened thestate and society. The instability in Afghanistan has remained a major source of concern for the international community, particularly Pakistan. \u201cPakistan endured the spillover of humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan into Pakistan\u2019s western border regions, when we hosted around 5 million Afghan refugees during the 1980s and 1990s, and continue to host around 2.5 million Afghan refugees,\u201d he said.\u00a0 President Saddique highlighted that conflict in Afghanistan in the post-9\/11 milieu gravely impacted the stability of Pakistan\u2019s western border regions, especially the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Balochistan. \u201cPakistan\u2019s viewpoint on Afghanistan is clear: we want an intra-Afghan dialogue which involves all segments of society. It is only through building an intra-Afghan consensus that the beleaguered country can finally be ushered into an era of peace and stability,\u201d he stressed.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Dr<\/em><\/strong><strong><em> Syed Adnan Ali Shah Bukhari,<\/em><\/strong> Senior Consultant at IPRI provided an overview of the internal security situation in Afghanistan; the regional security matrix; and current US-Taliban peace process. He shared that the power struggle between state and anti-state actors in Afghanistan has intensified with the country\u2019s militant landscape becoming more complex since 2015. He said that suicide attacks were up by 29 per cent in Afghanistan with 2343 civilian casualties in the July-September 2018 period alone; along with a sharp rise in civilian airstrike deaths.\u00a0 He was of the view that while the Taliban movement is fractured, there is multiplication of terrorist groups in the territory. Dr Bukhari outlined that given the worsening security situation, regional countries continue to remain threatened by presence of hostile elements on their borders; and hence, there is emphasis on bilateral and multilateral cooperation among regional countries. He also pointed out that given the lack of success of regional peace initiatives, individual countries like Pakistan, Russia, China and even Central Asian Republics have started improving their border defences. On the issue of the current negotiations between the United States and the Taliban, Dr Bukhari opined that while there appears to be seriousness of intent shown by all the sides, yet suspicion continues to exist between these stakeholders.\u00a0 \u201cAny deal will not be a simple walkover, but full of implementation challenges,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n<p>In his keynote, <strong><em>Dr Werner Fasslabend<\/em><\/strong>, President of the Austrian Institute for European and Security Policy, offered a strategic analysis of Afghan situation from the Austrian and European Union perspective. He was of the view that the situation in Afghanistan is more or less defined by its geostrategic location, being in the middle of South, Central and Western Asia and even having links to Eastern Asia. \u201cBeing a landlocked country will continue to define the course of Afghanistan\u2019s inner politics as well as the movement and decisions of global powers and regional powers around it,\u201d he said.Speaking of the current prevailing situation, he said that the United States is now tired and is ready to withdraw with minimal conditions even if that means fewer bases in the territory since ultimately\u201cthe Americans understand the central function of Afghanistan and will not give it up completely without maintaining a foothold there.\u201dHe was of the view that once the US leaves, China will strive to have a stronger presence in Afghanistan. He pointed out that \u201cFor China, Afghanistan has a strategic function that goes far beyond other countries because it is a gateway towards East and West Asia. It also offers a link to Central Asia which is of utmost importance to China. The strategic alliance between Beijing and Moscow is an alliance which is against the West, and especially the US. The first strategic interest of this alliance is dominance in Central Asia.\u201d Dr Fasslabend further shared that Europe does not have an immediate geopolitical interest in Afghanistan sinceit is more concerned about having peace in the region, free of humanitarian crises, drugs and anti-terrorism. He concluded that Afghanistan, as a country, is divided. \u201cWhat the country lacks most is a common agendaaccepted by internal and external powers. For Afghanistan, the main challenge remains: whether this region will be a region of divide or cooperation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Brig Walter Feichtinger<\/em><\/strong><em>,<\/em> Head of the Institute for Peace-Keeping and Conflict Management at the National Defence Academy shared that Austrian forces were one of the first to join the\u00a0International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)\u00a0in Afghanistan in 2002, providing expertise and logistical support. \u201cAustria continues to contribute to the follow-on\u00a0Resolute Support Mission (RSM)\u00a0to further train, assist and advise the Afghan security forces and institutions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Ambassador (R) Fauzia Nasreen<\/em><\/strong> shared that the major transformations and transitions are taking place in Afghanistan. But while terrorism remains a major threat for all countries, instead of handling it in a way that leads to confrontation, it should be tackled in a way that leads to cooperation.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Ambassador (R) Umar Khan Ali Sherzai<\/em><\/strong> warned that while on paper the Afghan question may look simple, in reality, Afghanistan is a complex issue because of the diverging interests of all the concerned stakeholders. \u201cThe best thing would be to let the problems in the country be solved by the Afghans themselves however they want so that the world is able to see once and for all, what the Afghan population truly want in their land. Pakistan has no negative designs and has always stood with the international community for peace\u2026the recent Pulwama crisis is proof of our sincere intentions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Ambassador (R) Ali Sarwar Naqvi<\/em><\/strong>highlighted that the 21<sup>st<\/sup> Century geopolitical paradigms are no longer about zero sum game. Alliances of the past have metamorphosed and are no longer only conflictual or cooperative, rather they are both. Globalization, too, has blurred territorial identities. He lamented that these changes have, however, brought international institutions and systems under stress and deepening nationalist trends are undermining and weakening them even further.He called for more people-to-people contact between Afghanistan and Pakistan as well as more interaction between the civil society and academia of both countries to built trust and friendship.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Lt. Gen (R) Talat Masood<\/em><\/strong> stressed that India\u2019s role in Afghanistan needs to change and move towards cooperation. \u201cPakistan will not have such serious concerns about the New Delhi-Kabul relationship if it doesnot have any negative repercussions and impacts for Pakistan, especially the use of Afghan soil against us,\u201d he remarked.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Amb (R) Muhammad Ayaz Wazir<\/em><\/strong> opined that the negotiators in the present peace process with the Taliban need to be mindful not to make this process another Geneva Accord which proved to be disastrous for the region in the long run.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Ambassador (R) Syed Abrar Hussain<\/em><\/strong>highlighted thatPakistan is among the top countries that want peace in Afghanistan but there has always been a history of scuttling Afghan peace efforts such as Murree talks, Quadrilateral talks, Moscow talks or recent Doha peace dialogue. Intra-Afghan dialogue, which is vital to peaceful settlement in Afghanistan, is missing from the peace process. Without intra-Afghan dialogue, nothing can be achieved, he concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The current peace talks between the United States and Taliban need to be more transparent, inclusive and open. An intra-Afghan dialogue is more important and should be promoted in a way that the Afghan government does not feel excluded and Taliban are also a part of the process. Any solution for bringing peace and stability [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2934,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[90],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2933"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2933"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2933\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2935,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2933\/revisions\/2935"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}