Dawn.com
THE meeting between representatives of Pakistan and Afghanistan, facilitated by China, in Urumqi on Wednesday is the first major diplomatic engagement between Islamabad and Kabul since this country launched Operation Ghazab lil-Haq in late February. The military operation is being carried out against TTP terrorists based in Afghanistan, as well as in response to hostile actions by the Afghan Taliban. Pakistani sources familiar with the matter said it was not a mediation effort in the traditional sense, but “exploratory discussions” to see where the Afghan side stood. The meeting follows Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar’s brief visit to China on March 31 to discuss the Iran war. Diplomats, as well as military and intelligence officers from both sides participated. As per reports, the Afghan Taliban had approached China to help engage Pakistan in negotiations. China has itself on several occasions reiterated the need to resolve the Pak-Afghan dispute peacefully. While no breakthroughs were achieved in Urumqi, the fact that both sides are talking is significant, and this process should be taken forward. The Taliban have reportedly agreed to discuss a “verifiable mechanism” to address the TTP issue. China had similarly raised concerns about ETIM, as the terrorist group has also been sheltered by Kabul. As a confidence-building measure, Pakistan is said to be considering the Afghan request of reopening trade routes and resuming economic cooperation. Pakistan has shown that it can take deterrent action against terrorist groups based on foreign soil. Figures reported in the media say that combat-related fatalities have come down since Ghazab lil-Haq began. Yet the threat has not completely subsided, as the military’s media wing said on Thursday that several terrorists had been killed in North Waziristan along the Afghan border. The way forward lies in maintaining vigilance, and continuing the dialogue process with the Afghan Taliban, with the involvement of friends such as China, to get firm assurances from Kabul that it will take “visible and verifiable actions”, in the words of the FO spokesman, to stop cross-border terrorism. China’s concern about groups like ETIM only strengthens Pakistan’s position regarding the activities of terrorist groups on Afghan soil. Hopefully, the negotiation process can be carried forward until the Afghan Taliban make firm pledges to rein in terrorism on their soil. With a war raging in the region, it is in the interest of all parties to find a negotiated settlement to the issue of cross-border terrorism. Pakistan should consider resuming trade activities and people-to-people contacts, while the Taliban must respond in good faith by not allowing their soil to be used against any country. If this diplomatic window closes, the alternative would be more conflict at a time of great regional upheaval. Published in Dawn, April 3rd, 2026
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