Series of terror attacks in Afghanistan followed by visit of Pakistan army chief Gen Bajwa
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Islamabad, May 10: Pakistan Army Chief visited Afghanistan on May 10, to meet President Ashraf Ghani, while the country faces critical time because of Taliban extremism and the withdrawal of troops of United States.
Pakistan Army Chief of Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa was to meet Ghani as well as other Afghan leaders in Kabul, reports Reuters. Neighbouring state of Pakistan is regarded as a key player in the Afghan peace process, considering their history with Taliban. In the past Islamabad has been accused of harbouring the insurgent Taliban. However, with the international pressure building on Islamabad to curtail the involvement in global terrorism in recent years, Pakistan's efforts to push the militant group to take part in peace talkshave been visible.
On the same day, Gen Bajwa also met Britain's Chief of Defence Staff General Nicholas Patrick Carter to initiate bilateral talks on Afghan peacemaking, according to a statement from Pakistan's military media wing. Reuters has reported that in recent weeks, Pakistan has been negotiating with insurgents to try and get them to commit to a ceasefire, agree to an extension of the U.S.-Taliban agreement which stipulated forces should withdraw by May, and to continue to take part in peace talks at a planned conference in Turkey. Clearly, the prior incidents of international pressure on Pakistan to take a stand on terrorism indicate the cause of Islamabad's changed international policy towards Afghanistan.
Also read: Violence continues in Afghanistan! Bomb attack kills 11 in Afghanistan's Zabul
Violence has risen starkly in Afghanistan in recent weeks with the Taliban launching attacks throughout the country and a huge unclaimed attack taking place on a school in Kabul on Saturday that killed dozens of students, mainly women and girls. The Taliban announced on Sunday night that they would commit to a three-day ceasefire for the Islamic religious holiday of Eid later this week.
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