7th Round of Afghanistan-Pakistan Bilateral Dialogue held in Islamabad:
The 7th round of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Track-II Bilateral Dialogue was held in Islamabad on April 29-30, 2019.
This is the oldest Afghanistan track sponsored by the Regional Peace Institute (RPI) with the support of the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF). The previous six rounds were held in Islamabad, Herat and Kabul and the next round is envisaged to be held in the Afghan capital towards the end of June/early July later this year.
The umbrella theme of this 7th round of the dialogue was “End of conflict, or end of the way – Stakeholders, prospects and challenges in the way of reconciliation in Afghanistan”.
The four working sessions discussed the following sub-themes:
- An appraisal of the ongoing reconciliation process in Afghanistan – Prospects and challenges;
- Regional role in bringing peace to Afghanistan – Can there be a broad agreement among countries?
- Strengthening economic engagement, academic exchanges and social linkages – Integral to expanding bilateral connectivity for development, and Post-Reconciliation Afghanistan – The need for an institutional mechanism to ensure peace and stability
A ten-member delegation from Afghanistan, led by the former Afghan Ambassador in Pakistan Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal, participated in the dialogue.
The Pakistani side comprised representations from the diplomatic and military corps, Afghan specialists, economic gurus, media professionals and civil society representatives.
This conference was held at a critical juncture in the pursuit of peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan and offered the participants a good opportunity to gain and share contemporary perceptions about the way things were likely to proceed in the neighbouring country and in the larger region.
