AFGHAN PEACE AND RECONCILIATION: PAKISTAN’S INTERESTS AND POLICY OPTIONS 3

This report by Pak Institute for Peace Studies entails the proceedings of its third experts’ consultation on Afghanistan, held on March 27, 2022, out of a series of eight such events that have been designed to discuss and critically evaluate evolving aspects of Afghan conflict and political reconciliation and suggest policy options and strategies to the government of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The report presents the opinions of the participants of the consultation which included academicians, ex-ambassadors, former military officers, senior journalists, and office bearers of different religious-political parties. The participants noted that paradigm shift in Pakistan’s Afghan policy is the need of the hour; Pakistan’s current policy lacks key ingredients to protect the country from possible fallout of the emerging Afghan situation. Though Taliban’s deafening silence to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan makes policy choices for Pakistan difficult, Pakistan must devise an all-encompassing parliament-led policy that focuses on provision of humanitarian assistance and on winning hearts and minds of the Afghans. These are some of the opinions outlined in this report, which is expected to improve knowledge-base and awareness of key stakeholders on Pakistan’s Afghan perspective and help Pakistan tackle the trickle-down effect of the Afghan quagmire.