Date of publication: 26-03-2013
Pakistani army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani meets US Secretary of State John Kerry in Amman and asked for his help with Afghan President Hamid Karzai to promote the reconciliation process in Afghanistan.
The meeting at which Kerry had to specially from Iraq to travel to neighbouring Jordan was held on Sunday night, but both sides made public on Monday as the former head to Kabul on an unannounced trip for meeting with Karzai.
Kerry's agenda includes discussions on reconciliation and transition in Kabul and presence of US troops in Afghanistan after 2014.
"Both [Kerry and Gen Kayani] discussed the reconciliation process in Afghanistan and security in the face of [the] South Asian region," the Coordination Committee Public Relations, public affairs wing of the army, said on the meeting in Amman.
Secretary Kerry had intended to visit Pakistan, but then decided to skip Islamabad because of the upcoming elections and instead Gen Kayani met in the Jordanian capital.
Despite the improvement of the ties on military-to-military and intelligence-intelligence levels, Pakistani authorities recently been uncomfortable with President Karzai because of his uncompromising attitude towards the process of reconciliation. The strategists in Islamabad think Karzai the attitude for peace process with militants has been useless.
Also at this time, the Americans have not the best of relations with Karzai, especially after he accused them (US) of collusion with the Taliban.
"[President] Karzai should stop insisting on the procedures for the exercise of the Taliban," said a Pakistani official familiar with behind-the-scenes developments.
Pakistan, who last year releasing the Afghan Taliban leaders in its captivity started to push the peace talks, is averse to President Karzai for values returned by the Taliban statement that she was going to be issued with the High Council for peace and not with the US, with the exception of the release of the held at the detention center in Guantanamo Bay. Islamabad also considered that Karzai not to accept the position of Track II dialogue also was problematic.
"That's a red herring," said an official of the Pakistani.
"People try to open the dialogue between the warlords and the Taliban. We are against it. Whose purpose would that serve? " Afghan Ambassador Umer Daudzai had said during a seminar at a University earlier this month, while the Karzai Government opposition to Track II dialogue to explain.
The Afghan diplomat had further said that peace must be involved between the State of Afghanistan and each faction in the fight against.
"We are against any attempt the transitional state of Afghanistan degrading," he added.
The process to release more prisoners of the Taliban since the beginning of this year on hold. The two countries were at the top of Chequers (UK) agreed to put in place a new mechanism by which Afghans more say in the release of prisoners. But if the same is not yet activated.
Pakistanis have pending the appointment of new US Special Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, that can address some of these controversial issues.
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