Breakfast with President Hamid Karzai

The president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, during his recent visit to Pakistan, hosted a reception to the leading journalists of the Country in Islamabad. Here is an analytical account of that gathering on a breakfast held in the morning of the 17th February, 2012.

The visit of President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, to Pakistan from 16 to 18 February, was quite different from his previous visits. This time, he had a strategy to reach out to different segments of Pakistani society along with traditional official meetings. The Afghan President, Mr Hamid Karzai, held official meetings with senior political and military leadership, but also reached out to the heads and representatives of various political parties, including the ones supposed to be the patron of Taliban–the insurgents. He also invited a group of senior journalists to share a breakfast and spelled out his mind and concerns for a wider range of audience in Pakistan . On 17th February in the morning, President Hamid Karzai was having a crispy breakfast but talking hard simultaneously. A few cookies, half kiwi (fruit) and a cup of milk tea seemed stimulating his mind and bringing out his fears, concerns and a spectacular confidence. While most of us confined ourselves to a cup of tea and availed the opportunity in straight question-answer session, President Karzai frankly and candidly kept our pens simmering with his discourse. His discourse at the breakfast meeting can be categorized into conditional, assertive but uneasy, sharply impulsive and adviceful to Pakistan. He was centric on ensuring peace and stability and promoting reconciliation inside Afghanistan. An analysis of his discourse is interesting.

Conditional:

The insiders say that Afghan President Hamid Karzai struggled to get the desired support for reconciliation with the Taliban, a day before his breakfast (i.e. 16th February) in a meeting at Prime Minister House wherein COAS, Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and DG ISI, Lt. Gen. Ahmad Shuja Pasha, were also present. At the breakfast, there were at least two occasions when he sounded putting conditionalities. To a question about departure of NATO troops from Afghanistan in the post-2014 scenario, President Karzai stated that the NATO would leave Afghanistan if both of our two countries help each other in eradicating the radicalism in the region. ‘If some one does not want NATO to leave, they should keep on creating instability’ he stated. Contrary to the said assertion, however, it is a matter of fact that NATO has tried its best to quell radicalism and create stability in Afghanistan for the last 10 years but miserably failed. Secondly, NATO is not leaving voluntarily. The post-2014 withdrawal pledges are, basically, because of the pressures the NATO countries are facing from within their respective country.

Yet at another point, President Karzai had the same `conditioning’ perspective. He was asked a question whether Afghanistan would like to accept Pakistani trainers for the training of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). President Karzai had an answer’ both political and diplomatic. ‘We do not mind accepting Pakistani trainers in principle and we do not have any objections’ he said but added that before such a possibility, the bilatateral relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan should be of an advanced nature and there should be absolute peace and tranquility inside Afghanistan . He kept on saying that we have not reached that stage. The assertion by President Karzai can also be debated on the grounds that with the `promised’ departure of ISAF/NATO troops from Afghanistan , trainers from any country have to be there for ANSF. The real question in this context is: whether any other country has been able to restore peace and tranquility inside Afghanistan ?

Assertive but uneasy

At times during the course of breakfast, President Hamid Karzai seemed quite assertive but equally uneasy. ‘We agreed only for Taliban office in Qatar . Americans cannot negotiate on our behalf with Taliban and with us on behalf of Taliban’ said President Karzai, who was visibly uneasy with the Qatar initiative. He asserted that actual talks between us and Taliban, should be somewhere that we decide. ‘Our preference is Saudi Arabia or Turkey’, he added.

The assertion and uneasiness of President Hamid Karzai, in fact, explain the dilemma both Pakistan and Afghanistan are facing. Pakistan does feel isolated in the beginning of Qatar initiative. So were the feelings within Afghan government when the news came out about the `exploratory’ contacts between Taliban and the Americans in Qatar . The Afghan side even felt shocked to learn Taliban address in Qatar . The Loya Jirga last year made it mandatory that talks would be held only with those whose address can be confirmed. Afghan government had proposed Saudi Arabia and Turkey as possible venues for address of Taliban. Qatar was not originally proposed by Afghan government. President Karzai little bit unfolded his vision of an Afghan-led reconciliation process. ‘It is a process wherein Afghan government and Taliban sit face to face and talk in an environment of clear and absolute transparency, where the entire Afghan nation can see the process unfolding, and where Afghanistan can have certain conditions.

Sharply Impulsive:

 President has been dealing with the world for the last 11 years. He has acquired wit and at times exhibits sharp impulsive responses’ so was the reflection at the breakfast. A few of us at the breakfast were coming hard on President Karzai viz-a-viz his warmth towards India , particularly the strategic pact he signed with India . ‘You are yourself desirous of normalization of relations with India and have decided, in principal, to grant Most Favoured Nation status to India’ he reminded the senior journalists. President Karzai has been pleading for a relationship with Pakistan which is independent of its relations with any other country. He has not got reciprocity from Pakistan because he complained that Pakistan boycotted Bonn conference on Afghanistan because of some acts which were taken not by Afghanistan . ‘It means our bilateral relation is affected by the actions taken by others’ he said. President Hamid Karzai had a point to make: he is the Afghan President who has visited Pakistan more than any other president. He has been here for around 20 times since his takeover as Afghan President.

President Karzai also showed his wit during a joint briefing with his Pakistani and Iranian counterparts. A question was posed reminding him (President Karzai) that the distance between Kabul and Islamabad was less than between Kabul and Qatar or Kabul and Washington . ‘I also believe that the distance between Islamabad and Kabul is less than between Islamabad and Washington’ he instantly responded exploding the President House in a big laughter.

Adviceful to Pakistan :

Pakistan and NATO are not having normal coordination after 26/11 attacks on Salala check posts. Pakistan has since then stopped its land route for NATO supplies to Afghanistan . However, President Karzai had a different thinking. ‘Stopping NATO supply is affecting us negatively. Pakistan should open the NATO supply routes’ he advocated. He asserted that it was even good for Pakistan as Pakistan should incur charges on the supply routes. President Karzai must be knowing that the issue of NATO supply is pending, alongwith resetting Pak-US relations, for approval from the Joint Session of the Parliament. The Joint Session is consistently being delayed for one or the other reasons. It is yet to be seen how far the Parliamentarians will act upon advice of President Karzai in the Joint Session if it takes place.