Perspectives from Pakistan on Afghan peace and reconciliation 1

Pakistan must avoid being seen as providing accompaniment to the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, and instead should focus establishing good, neighbourly relations with its western neighbour. While on the one hand, Pakistan needs to continue efforts to bring peace and humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, on the other hand it must establish good relations and cooperation with its neighbours including, China, Iran, and India to avoid any proxy war in Afghanistan, which will certainly hurt Pakistan the most. These are some of the key findings of a recently released PIPS report titled “Perspectives from Pakistan on Afghan Peace and Reconciliation.” The report is outcome of comprehensive monitoring and analysis of the opinions of different segments of Pakistani society and state institutions on the emerging Afghan situation, and covers the period from July to September 2021. Entailing a series of quarterly reports, the initiative is one of the key components of a PIPS programme that aims at strengthening Pakistan’s support for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan.