After the Pakistani military regime’s aggressive movements along the Durand Line were met with strong reactions from the Afghan government, it became clear to Islamabad that the politics of force no longer worked against the Afghans. This was also the reason why they knocked on the door of negotiations after the military pressure failed.
The first negotiations were held in Qatar. The proposal for these negotiations was originally made by Pakistan’s military regime, as they not only failed to achieve their objectives on the battlefield but also found themselves in a state of isolation as a result of casualties among their forces and heavy financial losses. In addition to this, they also faced ridicule from Islamic countries for how they were violating the airspace of an Islamic country and killing civilians, including women and children, in bombings. Therefore, the Pakistani military regime requested negotiations to achieve a goal that it could not achieve thru force.
The Qatar talks, despite being requested by the Pakistani military regime, were only initiated to show the world that we are proponents of peace, even though they were also fanning the flames of war at the negotiating table. The position of the mentioned military regime was wrong, arrogant, and authoritarian from the beginning. They had disregarded all the rules of the conversation. Due to threats, conditions, and an arrogant stance, the talks ended in a ceasefire after discussions. On the contrary, the Afghan delegation adhered to all the rules of negotiation and spoke based on national dignity, composure, and logic, which the mediating country of Qatar also witnessed.
The Pakistani military regime had illegitimate demands in the Qatari negotiation process that were in clear conflict with Afghanistan’s national sovereignty, supreme interests, and national interests. The Afghan delegation skillfully rejected all their demands in strong terms. These illegitimate demands led to negotiations continuing into a second round to discuss the remaining issues.
After Qatar, Turkey offered mediation, but this was also the second phase of the Pakistani military regime’s demands being accepted. Although the Pakistani military regime considered these negotiations its last chance to restore its political standing, it still used arrogant language at the negotiating table. On one hand, they were talking, and on the other hand, government officials were issuing warnings. These negotiations by the Pakistani military regime were also a continuation of previous talks, where arrogance, duplicity, and hostility were evident from the outset.
The atmosphere of the negotiations was damaged by the Pakistani military regime’s lack of commitment, rudeness, and unprofessional conduct at the negotiating table in Istanbul. They wanted to increase their pressure over time, but the Afghan delegation used logical politics. It became clear that the Pakistani military regime was still not ready for genuine dialog.
The Afghan side’s behavior truly represented Afghanistan. With flexibility, they firmly defended fundamental principles, but the Pakistani military regime, devoid of both political and diplomatic finesse, offered nothing but arrogance and authoritarianism. They couldn’t tolerate an independent Afghanistan speaking to them on the basis of equality.
Pakistan also views all issues from the military’s perspective rather than thru the lens of politics and diplomacy. Due to this mentality, the negotiations also failed, but Afghanistan won this round as well. The continuation of intelligence policies and support for proxy wars are the fundamental reasons for the failure of the Pakistani regime.
Now Afghanistan is not the same Afghanistan that would accept pressure from others. The independence of the Afghan government has been proven to everyone, and the nation is committed to defending territorial integrity under all circumstances. These new realities are a decisive verdict of time against the old policy of the Pakistani military regime.
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