The recently held ‘Heart of Asia’ ministerial conference, held in Islamabad on December 9, 2015, has been a welcoming development. President Ghani’s visit to Pakistan has not only led to the resumption of ties between Afghanistan and Pakistan which had been strained since July 2015, but also, hopefully, to the resumption of the dialogue for peace and reconciliation process between the Afghan Government and Afghan Taliban.
President Ghani held meetings with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as well as Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, General Raheel Sharif. During both interactions, President Ghani was assured of Pakistan’s full support for peace and stability in Afghanistan. Meetings were also held between Pakistan, Afghanistan, United States and China regarding a possible time frame for the resumption of talks between the Afghan government and the Afghan Taliban. The US and Chinese officials have been using their influence with Pakistan and Afghanistan for the resumption of ties as well as peace talks. These efforts seem to have paid off.
