Washington, June 22 (IANS) Former US Ambassador to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, has raised questions over Pakistan Defence Minister's statement about failure of diplomatic efforts with Afghanistan while urging lawmakers in Islamabad to encourage their government to negotiate an agreement with Kabul.

In a statement shared on X, Khalilzad urged Pakistani lawmakers to seek greater transparency from the Pakistani government on what assurances it had sought from Afghanistan and how Kabul's response was considered inadequate. He mentioned about the recent session of Pakistan's National Assembly, where several lawmakers spoke about the risks and costs related to Islamabad's dependence on force instead of diplomacy to resolve its disputes with Afghanistan.

Ties between Afghanistan and Pakistan have remained strained in recent months, with mutual security challenges being the primary issue of disagreement. Pakistan has accused Afghanistan of providing safe havens to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) which has been conducting attacks inside Pakistani territory. Meanwhile, Taliban has accused Pakistan of providing refuge and support to Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) and other groups hostile to Afghanistan.

Recently, Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that diplomatic engagement with Afghanistan had failed as Taliban did not provide sufficient assurances and commitments about Pakistan's security concerns.

Khalilzad said that Asif did not mention what commitments had Pakistan had sought from Afghanistan or why Kabul's response were considered inadequate.

In a post on X, Khalilzad wrote, "Representatives who rightly support diplomacy could have asked what specific commitments and assurances Pakistan has demanded from Afghanistan and what Afghanistan's apparently unsatisfactory response has been. Unfortunately, this opportunity to clarify the matter was missed."

Khalilzad said he had also called for clarification from Taliban about Asif's statement about talks between two nations. According to those officials, Afghanistan has expressed readiness to provide written guarantees while seeking similar commitments from Pakistan. They also said Afghanistan has cooperated on security issues through bilateral mechanisms, including the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) and was ready to involve third-party in verification mechanisms.

Afghan officials mentioned that Taliban has issued a religious decree banning Afghan nations from being part of attacks in Pakistan, relocated Pakistani refugees who had settled near the Durand Line during the Afghanistan's previous government and attended official and semi-official dialogues mediated by various countries. According to officials, Afghan authorities had taken verifiable action against people and groups who violated Afghanistan’s policy of preventing the use of its territory against other nations.

"Pakistani representatives who support diplomacy should make greater efforts to resolve problems with Afghanistan. They should encourage their government to negotiate an agreement under which neither Afghanistan nor Pakistan would allow groups or individuals to use their territory to threaten the security of the other country," Khalilzad stated.

"If the above points are accurately stated, it appears that Afghanistan is prepared for a serious solution. So why does Pakistan claim that diplomacy has failed? What are Islamabad's specific problems with Afghanistan's proposals? The people and parliament of Pakistan have a right to know the answers to these questions," he added.

--IANS

akl/as