CURRENT SCENARIO:

Many Afghans say Islamabad supports some militant groups to retain

influence in Afghanistan after foreign combat troops withdraw. Pakistani
leaders have repeatedly dismissed the allegations.

We must try both of us, to evaluate our relations to have

some trust-building measures but some people must not think
that Afghanistan is the backyard of Pakistan. They must
recognize that Afghanistan is a sovereign state, said Humayun
Shah Asefi, a senior Afghan opposition politician.

Afghanistan is a sovereign state, but like Pakistan, the central government

struggles to control parts of its territory. After years in which Afghan officials
accused Pakistan of allowing militants safe haven to launch cross-border
attacks, this year Pakistani officials made the reverse claim.

Speaking to a Pakistani TV station in June, President Hamid Karzai

acknowledged that anti-Pakistan militants operate on Afghan territory, but
insisted it is not his fault.

Yes, they are there. Yes, they are there because of the war created
against Afghanistan by the [army] establishment in Pakistan. This is
the consequence of the activities from across the Durand Line in
Pakistan towards Afghanistan, said Karzai.

Since last year, Pakistan has fired thousands of artillery shells into
Afghanistan to target militant bases nestled along their shared 2500
kilometer mountainous border, known as the Durand Line.

LACK OF TRUST
Pakistani Senator Afrasiab Khattak said although the lawless border areas are
a problem, they are a symptom of the lack of trust between the two
governments. The real issue is not border management. The real issue is

sourcing out borders to militants. Unfortunately, Pakistan has been doing it

for a very long time and recently Afghans have also resorted to this tactic by
giving shelter to our fugitives. I think we have to stop this, he stated.

Despite tensions over the violent border areas, there are signs that relations
are improvinG.

PEACE TALKS WITH TALIBAN

Since the new government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif took charge in
June, Afghan officials have welcomed Pakistan's willingness to free militants
who could be helpful to the fledgling peace talks with the Taliban.

During Sharifs recent trip to Afghanistan, he reiterated that peace in his

country is closely linked to a stable Afghanistan.
We have stood by Afghanistan we will continue to standby
Afghanistan and we have no favorites in Afghanistan,"he noted. "Our
favorite of course is the people of Afghanistan.

ChallengesSharifs visit to Kabul came only days after a senior delegation

from the Afghan Peace Council visited Islamabad to discuss the peace
process and visit Afghan Taliban prisoners in Pakistan. In the wake of that
meeting, Pakistan released three Taliban commandersincluding a close aide
of Mullah Omar, a move seen as an effort to encourage negotiations in
Afghanistan.

Following talks, Sharif promised that his civilian government would maintain
friendly relations with its neighbors--including Afghanistan, and will play a
neutral position in Kabuls effort to make peace with the Taliban.

A peaceful, stable and united Afghanistan is in Pakistans vital

interest, Sharif said, stressing that peace and stability in and with
Afghanistan is key to a peaceful and prosperous neighborhood.

NATO''S COMBAT MISSION

NATOs combat mission in Afghanistan ends in December 2014, and most

observers believe Pakistan stands to play a key role in advancing a political

solution to the 12-year-old Afghan conflict.But skeptics in Kabul question
Pakistans ability to maintain neutrality. Afghans have long accused Pakistan
of fueling instability in Afghanistan, supporting the Afghan insurgents and
giving them safe havens in the countrys tribal areas. Pakistan rejects these
allegations, and on Saturday, Sharif said he would encourage a meeting
between members of an Afghan peace council and former Taliban
commander Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who was released from Pakistani jail
last September.

Islamabads former Ambassador to Kabul, Rustam Shah Momand, believes

that Sharifs visit has reassured Karzai of Pakistans sincerity in the Afghan
peace process and its willingness to play a positive role in it.

Peace in Afghanistan is in the best interest of Pakistan, Mohmand

said. Security in Afghanistan will benefit Pakistan the most, and
insecurity in Afghanistan will harm Pakistan the most.

Ghafoor Liwal, Director of the Afghan Center for Strategic and Regional
Studies, believes that Nawaz Sharif has visited a Kabul that is much changed.

The political environment in Afghanistan is no longer the same as it

was during the 90s, Liwal said. Afghan peoples perceptions about
Pakistan have changed a great deal. Back in the 90s, Pakistan was
viewed as the center of Islam by most Afghans, whereas now
Pakistan is more viewed more as a potential adversary by most
Afghans, [rather] than an ally.

Some experts believe that Pakistans history of conflict resolution efforts in

Afghanistan during the early 90s--and again with the Taliban regime in late
90s--could be an asset in the current peace and reconciliation process.

Who has the final say?

A question remains, however, as to how much autonomy Sharif, a civilian

leader, has to make important foreign policy decisions, particularly regarding
Afghanistan. Many believe that any decisions made by Sharif will have to be
approved by Pakistans strong military.

Pakistans military plays a vital role in sustaining the countrys

unity against a rival India and other powers in the region and
without doubt the military will continue to have that dominance in
the future as well, said Alam Payand, director of the Middle East Study
Center at Ohio State University.

That said, Payand believes that military can only go so far. Soldiers
cannot run the economy nor can they do other vital national tasks
that civilian administration can, and I think Pakistans military has
realized this, he said.
The relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan has been mainly based on
mutual distrust and interpreted through a security paradigm. This needs to
change because both countries share a long history, ethnic ties, lingual
similarities and a similar religious background. Therefore, this relationship
should not only be restricted to security-related matters.

BILATERAL RELATIONS
The new president of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, offers an excellent
opportunity to realize this dream. One of the first things he did directly after
assuming the office of the presidency was to hold out an olive branch to his
Pakistani counterpart, Mamnoon Hussain, and the Pakistani people. Having
offered to develop and widen bilateral ties with Pakistan, Ashraf Ghani made
a great step forward. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's positive
approach to Ashraf Ghani's step is an important new beginning in bilateral
relations.

ECONOMY ISSUE
The economy is an important issue behind the problems between the two
countries since millions of Afghan people have had to flee their country over
the last four decades and settled along the borders of Pakistan. However,
simply improving economic relations will not achieve positive results if there
is no stability in Afghanistan and a lack of security in both countries generally.

In order to turn the tide, Pakistan first needs to eliminate the multi-head
system. Though of course Pakistan doesn't have two leaders in action, it is
very well known that the Pakistani army could interfere in government
business so that the dissimilarity in methods between civilian leadership and
the Pakistani army becomes significant.

Pakistan's contribution to post-2014 Afghanistan will be directly proportional

to Pakistan's own security, stability and economic welfare. The better the
situation in Afghanistan in the post-2014 era, the better the future is for
Pakistan.

CURRENT REPORT BY WORLD BANK

According to a recent report published by the World Bank, Afghanistan is the
worst country to invest in in Asia and the seventh worst in the entire world.
As indicated in the report, this is a result of security threats related to the
increased number of deadly attacks during the summer, the decreasing
amount of international aid being provided since the withdrawal of NATO
forces, corruption issues and many other internal problems that the brand
new Ashraf Ghani administration is facing. Among them, Pakistan could help
Afghanistan in terms of security threats and declining international aid, if not
more. As long as Afghanistan faces these problems, they will continue to
have a fragile investment environment, which will have spillover effects on
Pakistan as well.

DEMOCRATIC PROCESS
The anti-government demonstrations, led by leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) Imran Khan and an Islamic scholar of Sufism and founder and
leader of the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT), Tahir-ul Qadri, that have been
going on since August have damaged the profile of the Sharif government.
These demonstrations led the Pakistani army to interfere in politics as a
mediator between the demonstrators and the Sharif government. After nine
years of military rule in Pakistan between 1999 and 2008, Asif Ali Zardari
became president of the country. He was then replaced by Mamnoon Hussain
in 2013 through a democratic election. Since then, the influence of the
Pakistani military establishment has been on the decline. However, the
reappearance of the Pakistani army in daily politics is not a good sign for the
country's democratic process.

REPORT BY ICG
According to a recent report titled "Resetting Pakistan's Relations with

Afghanistan" published by the International Crisis Group (ICG), even though

Pakistan has underlined its backing for a "united Afghanistan" several times,
during a Crisis Group interview a former Pakistani military official conceded
that the "defense establishment" differentiates a "Pashtun Afghanistan" and
an "Afghanistan of others that includes other ethnic groups such as the
Tajiks, Uzbeks and Hazaras.

This military perspective has many issues behind it, including the close
relations between Afghanistan and India that are fundamentally motivated by
enmity towards Pakistan, the release of high-profile Taliban
commanders/leaders depending on Pakistan's interests, the Inter-Services
Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan's relationship with the Afghan Taliban, the United
States' financial assistance to Pakistan arising from the ongoing war in
Afghanistan and so forth. An approach to Afghanistan under the influence of
this perspective cannot succeed. The ICG report also remarks that the
Pakistani military's possible prevention of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's
intention to start negotiations with the Taliban and Hizb-e Islami could
weaken the Pakistani prime minister's endeavors for a better relationship with
Afghanistan.

Therefore, the Pakistani administration should take foreign policy in hand in

order to implement its priorities. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
continues to be committed to peace with Afghanistan; however, if his
administration does not take any action, no changes can be realized.
Reinforcing relations with neighboring countries, including Afghanistan, is a
must for economic recovery in Pakistan. Acknowledging the fact that it is too
hard to deal with the Pakistani army in terms of controlling the securityrelated issues and foreign policy for the Nawaz Sharif government and that it
would be fanciful to think that this will change in a short span of time, the
Sharif government should redirect bilateral relations with Afghanistan beyond
the realm of security issues.

Enhancing economic ties between the two countries and providing legal
opportunities for the millions of Afghan refugees to stay in Pakistan would be
a good start to reviving the floundering relationship.

Pakistani authorities fear that a chaotic situation in Afghanistan after the

withdrawal of NATO forces could strengthen homegrown militants, posing a

greater challenge for Islamabads anti-terrorism efforts. Islamabad also
worries that continuing conflict and instability could trigger a fresh influx of
Afghan refugees, putting pressure on an already weak and fragile economy.

SECURITY COOPERATION
Former Pakistan army general, Athar Abbas, said that improved security
cooperation between the two countries is critical need for stable future ties.
Unless and until the Afghan security establishment and the
government, and our government as well as the security
establishment are not on one page and sit down together to decide
how to deal with the complete menace [of terrorism], the ultimate
peace objective will remain elusive on both sides of the border, he
said.

Observers have for long argued that much of the mistrust and acrimony
between Afghanistan and Pakistan flows from the rivalries between their
security establishments. This mistrust also influences U.S. and Indian
relations with Pakistan. With the departure of foreign combat troops from
Afghanistan next year, and powerful militant groups that both Kabul and
Islamabad are trying to neutralize, the stakes are high for both countries to
fin