https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/11/19/pakistan-pm-khan-headed-for-his-maiden-afghan-visit
Pakistani PM Imran Khan and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani recently met in Kabul to discuss mending the distrustful relations between the two states, as well as working towards peace from the Taliban. The Afghan government has been working towards peace negotiations with the Taliban in the Qatari capital, Doha. However, despite the ongoing talks, violence has continued to increase and heighten. The Taliban has thus far rejected the idea of a ceasefire before discussions occur, which critics say diminish the necessary trust to reach an agreement. Additionally, PM Khan and President Ghani’s cooperation was sparked by the US decision to withdraw half of their troops out of Afghanistan.
One of Pakistan’s primary stakes in assuring the end of the long Afghan war is general regional stability, as well as ensuring the positive implications of upholding good relations with their neighboring state to the west– Pakistan has historically had poor relations with India, their neighbor to the east, so it would benefit the state to be in good standing with Afghanistan. Pakistan’s perspective in intervening may be a realist one, especially as they may be acting largely to ensure their own power gains with a good neighboring ally and the ability to increase international credibility by participating in the extremely important peace deals. Pakistan and Afghanistan have had a distrustful relationship in the past- Pakistan also recently accused Afghanistan of allowing India to use Afghan soil to “sponsor terrorism” against them, which was refuted by Afghanistan. In order to curb violence from the Taliban and continue working for peace, the Afghan government requires additional regional support, especially as NATO allies remain wary of keeping troops deployed and the US continues to withdraw. It has been warned that the withdrawal of troops can lead to a harsher uptick in violence, making it increasingly crucial to reach a peace agreement with the Taliban.