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PIPS CONSULTATION-12 ON AFGHAN PEACE & RECONCILIATION

Pak Institute for Peace Studies convened its 12th quarterly consultation on “Afghan peace and reconciliation: Pakistan’s interests and policy options” in Islamabad on March 15, 2024. The focal points of discussion encompassed “Pakistan’s Afghan policy puzzle: challenges and opportunities for the new government” and “The counterterrorism and counter-extremism challenges for the new federal and provincial governments.” Participants included lawmakers from national and provincial assemblies, diplomats, retired military officials, academics, journalists, policy analysts, and experts on Afghan affairs.

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AFGHAN PEACE AND RECONCILIATION: PAKISTAN’S INTERESTS AND POLICY OPTIONS 9

There is a complete political deadlock and the leaderships in Afghanistan and Pakistan apparently also do not seem very much interested in getting out of it. At the same time, no one appears convinced to recognize the Taliban’s de facto government including Pakistan. The biggest bilateral problem, which concerns Pakistan the most, is the banned TTP and its cross-border terrorist attacks inside Pakistan. Pakistan’s current stance is that it will not talk to the TTP, but to the Afghan government; the country lays the responsibility of checking the TTP incursions on the Afghan Taliban. However, the Taliban see the TTP as Pakistan’s internal issue, which not only adds to Pakistan’s frustration but also emboldens the militant group, which has already increased its terrorist attacks in Pakistan manifold.

These are some of the findings of the PIPS-led 9th consultation on Afghan peace and reconciliation held on August 10, 2023 in Islamabad.

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PIPS CONSULTATION-11 ON AFGHAN PEACE & RECONCILIATION

Pak Institute for Peace Studies organized 11th quarterly consultation on “Afghan peace and reconciliation: Pakistan’s interests and policy options” in Islamabad on January 18, 2024. The main themes of the consultation included ‘The changing security scenario: Women’s perspective’ and ‘Emerging Pak-Afghan ties: Youth’s perspective.’ The event was attended by female experts and academics, former diplomats, journalists, youths, and policy analysts.

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Pakistan Security Report 2023

As the incidence of terrorist violence marked an upsurge of 17 percent in Pakistan in 2023, Pakistan’s response and focus were no match to the mounting challenge of terrorism and militancy. The country’s negotiation bid with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and dwindling political focus on countering terrorism due to persisting political and economic crises emboldened the banned TTP and others to regroup and escalate terrorist violence in Pakistan.

The key actors of terrorist violence were also more pronounced in the year 2023; over 82 percent of the terrorism-related deaths resulted from attacks perpetrated by three major groups including the TTP [and its subsidiaries such as Tehrik-e-Jihad Pakistan], Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K), and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA). These three groups carried out over 78 percent of the total terrorist attacks recorded in the country in the year under review.

These findings were revealed in Pak Institute for Peace Studies’ Pakistan Security Report for 2023, which was released on 4 January 2024. The report includes the comprehensive data on violent incidents including terrorist attacks, comparative analysis of various security variables, the changing targets and tactics of militants and nature of state responses, as well as policy recommendations.

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Pips consultation-10 on afghan peace & reconciliation

Pak Institute for Peace Studies organized 10th quarterly consultation on “Afghan peace and reconciliation: Pakistan’s interests and policy options” in Islamabad on November 16, 2023. The main themes of the consultation included ‘Rising terrorism threat from TTP, IS-K (Islamic State Khorasan) and other groups’ and ‘Emerging Pak-Afghan ties: Dynamics and projections.’ The event was attended by academics, politicians, journalists, religious scholars, human rights activists, and experts on Afghan affairs, from Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The experts urged the caretaker federal government to carefully deal with the issue of repatriation of illegal Afghan immigrants as their expulsion in haste would make them susceptible to radicalization due to almost no opportunities of livelihood in neighbouring Afghanistan.
They warned that Pakistan needed a long-term political strategy and should revisit its entire Afghan policy by making it civilian-led, otherwise the country faces the threat of another conflict.

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