News Analysis: Sharif's visit to Kabul can bridge gap in Afghan-Pakistani relations, analysts say

The one-day visit to Kabul of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday signals a warming up of relations between the two neighboring countries who oftentimes found themselves embroiled in misunderstanding because of their common security problem involving the Taliban.

In meetings with Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, the Pakistani leader pledged to work hand in hand with Afghanistan in promoting peace and stability in the region.

"I reaffirm Pakistan's full support to Afghan-owned and Afghan- led peace and reconciliation process," Premier Sharif told a joint press conference with President Ghani held at the Presidential Palace after their meeting.

Afghan officials often accused Pakistan of supporting the Taliban militants who continued to pose a security threat to Afghanistan, a charge that has been spurned by Islamabad as baseless.

Allaying Afghanistan's concern over alleged backing militants, Sharif said at the press conference, "I assure you, Mr. President, that the enemies of Afghanistan cannot be friends of Pakistan."

To put emphasis on the primacy of security issues in his talks with Afghan officials, the Prime Minister's delegation included Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif, Adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, Director General of the powerful army spy agency the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lieutenant General Rizwan Akhtar and other senior military officials.

Afghan political analysts have lauded the visit as a vital step in bridging the gap between the two neighboring states but some have expressed doubts that peace and stability in the country would follow in the immediate future.

"Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's pledge to support peace and stability in Afghanistan is commendable but this would not necessarily result in the solution of the Taliban problem," Kabul University professor Musa Fariwar told Xinhua Tuesday.

Fariwar said that Afghanistan has to wait until military officials in Islamabad take tangible measures to rein in the Taliban on their side of the border. "This measure should fulfill Premier Sharif's pledge to help in promoting peace in Afghanistan, " he said.

According to the analyst, the real power in Pakistan is the Army and not the civilian government. Fariwar, however, noted that since Sharif brought with him top Pakistani military brass, there is reason to hope that indeed Pakistan is sincere in working for peace in Afghanistan.

Fariwar said that former Afghan President Hamid Karzai had visited Pakistan more than 20 times and the current Afghan president has also visited Islamabad all with the objective of seeking Islamabad's support in convincing the Taliban to agree to open dialogue with the Kabul government.

"But so far, there has been no progress yet," Fariwar said. He said that one of the practical steps that the Sharif government can do to boost the peace process is to convince the Taliban to talk peace with the Kabul government.

Another political analyst said that the problem is that Pakistani officials have time and again said that they have no control over Taliban even if they have announced that they have encouraged the armed outfit to join the peace process.

"It was a welcome visit but I am skeptical about what it can achieve as far as the peace process is concerned," Kabul University professor Nasrullah Stanikzai told the local media on Tuesday.

Other Afghan observers said that Pakistani officials including Premier Nawaz Sharif and chief of army staff General Raheel Sharif have visited Afghanistan in the past but the Taliban problem remained.

Nevertheless, the political observers believed that such visits are confidence- building measures that can bridge the gap between Pakistan and Afghanistan and eventually pave the ground for durable peace in the region. Endi