Bharat SainiLast Updated on February 25, 2017 by Bharat Saini
In the Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process (HoA-IP) Sixth Ministerial Conference, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and high-level representatives of the participating and supporting countries, joined by high level representatives of the international and regional organizations, met in Amritsar, India, on 4 December, 2016. The Conference was inaugurated by Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India and was co-chaired by Arun Jaitley, Finance Minister of India and Salahuddin Rabbani, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan. The United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, Japan, Norway and the European Union participated in this year’s conference.
The Heart of Asia Istanbul Ministerial Process was established in November 2011 to provide a platform to discuss regional issues, particularly regarding strengthening security and economic and political cooperation in Afghanistan and among its neighbors. The United States and some 20 other countries serve as “supporting nations” in the process.
Speaking at the conference, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani urged Pakistani authorities to act against the militants’ sanctuaries in their country’s northwestern tribal areas. Ghani said the 500 million dollars in aid that Islamabad pledged for the reconstruction of Afghanistan would be better spent on eradicating terrorists that continue to launch attacks in Afghanistan from Pakistani soil. “We must confront the specter in the room,” Ghani said, referring to what he said was a fresh wave of terrorism and political violence affecting the region. “Responses of states on this have been significant, but some states provide sanctuary and tolerate these networks,” Ghani said, adding that a Taliban leader had said recently if the group did not have sanctuary in Pakistan, it would not last a month. It is not the first time the Afghan government has criticized Pakistan for its alleged lack of cooperation in the fight against terror. At last years’ Heart of Asia conference, Kabul made similar accusations against Islamabad.
India also accused Pakistan of backing Islamist militants in India-administered Kashmir. In his opening remarks at the Heart of Asia conference, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed terrorism “the biggest threat to the peace in Afghanistan and the region. We must counter terrorists and their masters. We must demonstrate strong collective will to defeat terror networks that cause bloodshed and spread fear,” Modi told the conference participants in a veiled reference to Pakistan. “Silence and inaction on terror in Afghanistan and the region will only embolden terrorists and masters and those fund them,” he added. The Indian premier reiterated his country’s commitment to “durable peace” in Afghanistan and announced plans to connect India and Afghanistan via an air link.
Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan’s Foreign affairs Advisor stated that he had chosen to attend the HoA, despite escalation with India at the LoC and IB, because of Pakistan’s “commitment to peace in the region”. Pakistan received unexpected support from the Russian delegation at the conference. “I’m sure President Ghani had strong reasons to do so, but I don’t think the HoA is the right place for settling scores,” Russia’s special envoy on Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov told the media after the session.
While Pakistan faced the snubs from India and Afghanistan in the room, it wasn’t isolated in the final Amritsar declaration. The statement contained several tough clauses on terrorism, building on the 2015 Islamabad Declaration that had discussed ending sanctuaries and funding for terror and named Al Qaeda and IS (Islamic State), adding groups like Pakistan-based LeT and JeM that target India, the Haqqani network that attacks Afghanistan, and groups like Jundullah, ETIM and IMU that operate in China, Central Asia, and Iran. But it also named the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Jamaat Ul Ahrar, that claim responsibility for terror attacks in Pakistan.
