Little expected to come of Pakistani-Iranian-Afghan summit

By Can Merey Feb 17, 2012, 17:15 GMT

New Delhi - The usual cordialities were uttered, but it is unlikely any substantive progress was made at Friday's three-way summit attended by host Pakistan, its neighbours Iran and Afghanistan to discuss rising tensions in the region.

And the tensions - along with a complex web of relations - are many.

Pakistan - an ally of the United States on paper - is repeatedly accused of supporting the Taliban.

And the Afghan government - despite its fraught relations with the United States - is dependent on US troops who are in battle against these same Taliban fighters.

Israel, and possibly the United States, are widely reported to be considering a military strike against Iran's nuclear sites.

The tying of this knot of contradictory alliances started years ago.

The Taliban survived in Kabul only with generous support from their Sunni allies in Pakistan, while Shiite Iran supported the Northern Alliance of Afghan tribes that fought bitterly against the Kabul regime and played a key role in its downfall in 2001.

Yet, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have assured Afghan President Hamid Karzai of their 'full support' for an Afghan-led peace process with the Taliban.

Today's political and military leadership in Pakistan insist repeatedly that they neither control nor support the Taliban, but Karzai has made it clear equally as often that he remains unconvinced.

Information emerging from a conversation between Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani und Pakistani General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani suggested Karzai had made this clear once more in Islamabad.

Karzai had repeatedly requested Pakistan's civilian and military leadership to support his government in setting up contact with the Taliban, Pakistani government sources said. But this contradicts the Afghan president's remarks this week to the Wall Street Journal, in which he said both the US and the Afghan governments were already in secret talks with the Taliban rebels.

In the comments, made in an interview ahead of the summit, Karzai said contact between his government and the Taliban were proceeding at the highest level.

'There have been contacts between the US government and the Taliban, there have been contacts between the Afghan government and the Taliban, and there have been some contacts that we have made, all of us together,' he said.

The Taliban promptly issued a denial, making a statement over the internet that they had never spoken to what they termed the 'puppet' government in Kabul.

'The enemy has only got propaganda left to show off its power, which in reality has been given to them by someone else and only for a few more days,' the Taliban said in clear reference to the United States.

In the interview, Karzai expressed the hope that the Taliban could be inclined to end their armed insurgency, saying he believed they wanted peace.

The two sides have agreed on the opening of a Taliban office in Qatar - seen as an initial step to possible negotiations. Yet the Taliban has repeatedly made clear its intention to fight on.

In a statement issued to mark the 23rd anniversary of the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, the insurgents said they were praying for the same kind of victory over the 'American crusaders' as it had achieved over the 'communist atheists.'

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