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Summary Hillary Clinton's recent visit to Pakistan seemed to subtly soften Washington's stand.
The stand has particularly been softened on a key point of contention between the two countries: whether Islamabad should take military action against insurgents fighting in Afghanistan, or try to engage them in peace talks.Hillary Clinton seemed to acknowledge during her two-day visit that ended Friday that help with a negotiated settlement is perhaps the best the US can hope for from Pakistan.This shift in the US stance could give Washington and Islamabad new room to cooperate on ending the Afghan war.A report said that Hillary agreed to restoring the tripartite talks amongst Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United States as a way to finding peace in the region.But serious barriers to negotiations remain. The US believes that military force is still needed to push the Taliban and their allies to make concessions. Pakistan, which Washington alleges supports some of the militant groups, prefers on the other hand to reduce violence to induce the insurgents to come to the table.Islamabad is also worried about being blamed if peace talks fail.Pakistan is unsure of exactly what kind of deal the US and Afghan governments might strike with the insurgents, and the atmosphere is permeated by feelings of distrust on all sides.The US has long demanded that Pakistan take greater military action against Taliban militants and their allies who use Pakistani territory to regroup and to send fighters to attack forces in Afghanistan. Recently, the US has pushed for an assault on the Haqqani militant network.Hillary seemed to soften the US stance during a town hall meeting in Islamabad. When asked whether the US expects Pakistan to militarily tackle the Haqqani network or force them to the negotiating table, she said, Its more the latter.She also confirmed that the US had tried to reach out to the Haqqanis directly in peace efforts. She is the first US official to publicly acknowledge the overtures, which were first reported by The Associated Press in August. She said the meeting was organised by the ISI.The US has not totally backed away from blunt public statements urging Pakistan to fight the Haqqanis. Hillary said Islamabad must rid the country of terrorists who kill their own people and who cross the border to kill people in Afghanistan.The tough message may be intended to avoid making the US look weak in its policy toward a militant group accused of attacking American civilians and soldiers in Afghanistan. It could also be meant to keep up perceived pressure on the Haqqanis to get them to negotiate.Pakistan doesnt believe the US plan to use military action to force militants into peace talks will work.In our culture, it may not work if you want to negotiate with the same adversary you are fighting, said the Pakistani security official. You have to declare a pause in fighting if you want to give peace a chance.Hillary made clear the US feels otherwise, saying during the town hall meeting that experience has shown that only a combination of fighting and talking will convince some to come to negotiations and will remove others who are totally opposed to peace and want to continue their violent attacks.Pakistan is open to approaching the Taliban and their allies about participating in peace talks, but cant provide any guarantees that its efforts will succeed, said the security official.Contact does not mean that they are in our pockets, said the official. Contact means we will suggest to them that they participate.Perhaps the greatest barrier to a potential peace deal, however, is that nobody seems to have a clear idea whether the Taliban and their allies have any interest in negotiating.Were not sure, said Hillary. There may be no appetite for talking on the other side for ideological reasons or whatever other motivations.After the US met with a senior Haqqani official over the summer, the group allegedly carried out an attack on the US Embassy in Kabul and staged a truck bombing days later that wounded 77 American soldiers.The peace process also took a big blow with the assassination in Kabul of former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani, who was tasked with the governments outreach to the Taliban. Its still unclear who carried out the attack. The Afghan government has said it was planned in the Pakistani city of Quetta. But no evidence has been provided.The allegations have soured relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, as did a strategic partnership agreement that Kabul recently signed with India the first of its kind that Afghanistan has reached with any country.US accusations that Pakistan has supported the Haqqani network have also increased feelings of mistrust on all sides.These kinds of public pronouncements dont help enhance the space for cooperation, said the Pakistani security official.They badly affect the space, which is limited to begin with.
