In a bold move, the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) has signed an accord with the Afghan intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security (NDS), to boost anti-terror cooperation and share intelligence. What is positive in this news is the acknowledgement that Pakistan and Afghanistan face the same threats. An NDS spokesperson said that the MoU had clarified who the ‘enemy’ was and that the NDS looked forward to sincere cooperation. Afghan media has suggested that the agreement was signed during the ISI chief Lieutenant General Rizwan Akhtar’s visit to Kabul this month. The move has come after relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have improved in the last year with the election of Afghan President Ghani in September 2014. Former Afghan president Hamid Karzai had continued to point the finger at Pakistan over terrorism in Afghanistan which made cooperation against regional terrorism impossible. After the launch of Operation Zarb-e-Azb, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff Raheel Sharif both visited Afghanistan to clear the ground for more regional cooperation against a ‘common enemy’.
In the last decade, Afghanistan and Pakistan have often accused each other of sponsoring terrorism. The Afghans, on their part, have not forgotten the deep role that Pakistan played in the Afghan-Soviet war and the allegedly close relationship between the Afghan Taliban and Pakistan’s security agencies. The Afghans have long thought that Pakistan was banking on the Taliban to return to power after the US/Nato withdrawal from Afghanistan. The agreement between the ISI and the NDS suggests that these fears can be overcome and a new period of regional cooperation against the Taliban can be started. However, caution must be urged. MoUs between Pakistani and Afghan intelligence services were signed in 2006 and 2009 as well, but the two were unable to find common ground. The hope is that this increased cooperation will lead to a change in the approach of intelligence agencies. The fact that Afghanistan has gone ahead with the MoU despite ex-president Karzai calling it against the national interest of Afghanistan shows their commitment. Overall, a difference of approach still remains between Pakistan and Afghanistan. While Afghans hope to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table, Pakistan, at least officially, wishes to take them head on. The agreement gives out a positive signal. Whether this will lead to any real progress requires serious commitment by both countries.
In the last decade, Afghanistan and Pakistan have often accused each other of sponsoring terrorism. The Afghans, on their part, have not forgotten the deep role that Pakistan played in the Afghan-Soviet war and the allegedly close relationship between the Afghan Taliban and Pakistan’s security agencies. The Afghans have long thought that Pakistan was banking on the Taliban to return to power after the US/Nato withdrawal from Afghanistan. The agreement between the ISI and the NDS suggests that these fears can be overcome and a new period of regional cooperation against the Taliban can be started. However, caution must be urged. MoUs between Pakistani and Afghan intelligence services were signed in 2006 and 2009 as well, but the two were unable to find common ground. The hope is that this increased cooperation will lead to a change in the approach of intelligence agencies. The fact that Afghanistan has gone ahead with the MoU despite ex-president Karzai calling it against the national interest of Afghanistan shows their commitment. Overall, a difference of approach still remains between Pakistan and Afghanistan. While Afghans hope to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table, Pakistan, at least officially, wishes to take them head on. The agreement gives out a positive signal. Whether this will lead to any real progress requires serious commitment by both countries.
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