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Top UK lawmaker says Britain should reopen embassy in Kabul and work with IEA
Britain should reopen its embassy in Kabul and start negotiating with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), a senior member of the UK’s parliament has said.
Tobias Ellwood, who is the chairman of the defence select committee in the UK parliament, said he is “no Taliban-appeaser” but it is time to start working with the Afghan government in order to prevent the country entering another cycle of “instability, terrorism and mass migration,” Telegraph reported.
Ellwood, who has served in the British army, said a more pragmatic strategy is needed by the West if things are to improve in Afghanistan.
It is almost two years since NATO withdrew from Afghanistan and the IEA took over the country, but no country has recognized the government.
Ellwood, who has just returned from a visit Afghanistan, said he has witnessed real progress and believes it is now time to start negotiating with the IEA, no matter how unpalatable that might seem.
He said Afghanistan is currently more peaceful than it has been since the 1970s and despite the ban, women are being allowed to return to work because the economy demanded it.
“I recognise their (IEA’s) policies will never align with our ideals. But I witnessed unreported compromises the war-exhausted nation is currently willing to accept,” Ellwood said.
The MP stressed that Afghanistan remains extremely fragile with widespread food shortages and half of the country’s nine million children not having access to school.
But he said engagement is the only way to have a hand in helping to shape the future.
“If the West continues to sulk we could be making another blunder which pushes the nation to a fiscal cliff, potentially igniting another cycle of instability, terrorism and mass migration,” he said.
“A more pragmatic strategy is necessary. The Taliban’s (IEA) restrictions on women’s rights may well serve as a negotiation tool for shared understanding.
“But such a possibility will remain unknown until we wake up. The first step is reopening our embassy. The second is to get real,” Ellwood said.
Pakistan says communities living along the Afghanistan-Pakistan Durand Line want peace and stability, despite ongoing security concerns in the region.
Speaking during a weekly media briefing, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said there are no major issues between the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan, adding that residents on both sides of the Durand Line want peaceful relations and greater regional stability.
However, Andrabi claimed that terrorism originating from Afghan territory continues to undermine peace efforts.
He said Islamabad believes militant activity crossing from Afghanistan remains a significant obstacle to improving regional security and bilateral ties.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has repeatedly rejected such allegations, maintaining that no militant group is allowed to use Afghan soil to threaten neighboring countries.
Andrabi also said Pakistan remains diplomatically engaged on regional matters involving Afghanistan, Iran, India, and Somalia, stressing that dialogue and diplomacy remain Islamabad’s preferred means of resolving disputes.
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Afghanistan-Gambia ties discussed during Doha meeting
Both sides also exchanged views on strengthening diplomatic engagement and exploring future economic cooperation.
Suhail Shaheen, head of the Islamic Emirate’s embassy in Doha, has met with Omar Jah, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of The Gambia to Qatar, to discuss bilateral relations and areas of mutual interest.
According to a statement from the Afghan embassy in Doha, Jah also oversees Gambian diplomatic affairs related to Afghanistan.
The meeting focused on Afghanistan-Gambia relations, the current security situation in Afghanistan, and potential investment opportunities in the country.
Both sides also exchanged views on strengthening diplomatic engagement and exploring future economic cooperation.
Mahmood Khan Achakzai, a member of Pakistan’s National Assembly and head of the Pakhtunkhwa Awami National Party, has said that if capable statesmen had been in power, people living on both sides of the Durand Line could have moved freely across the line.
Speaking during a podcast interview, Achakzai said that countries with histories of major conflict, including Russia, Germany and the United Kingdom, now maintain far more open borders despite past wars. He said that in many such regions, only a “paper line” remains, with limited border restrictions.
Drawing comparisons with the disputed Durand Line boundary between Afghanistan and Pakistan, Achakzai argued that a similar arrangement could have been possible in South Asia.
“What is the problem here? A Punjabi could dance in Kandahar and a Pashtun could come here. Even if we are not formally one country, we could have effectively functioned like one,” he said.
The Pakistani politician also referred to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the later U.S.-led intervention, saying Afghanistan has the right to seek war reparations from those countries to support reconstruction efforts.
Achakzai further criticised the treatment of Pashtuns in Pakistan, alleging that individuals in cities including Lahore and Karachi have faced detention and deportation.
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