No peace in Afghanistan without Pakistan – MPs and senior military officers from Pakistan visit the Federal Foreign Office

In front of the Reichstag building
© AA

The guests from Pakistan in front of the Reichstag building

In front of the Reichstag building

© AA

“Peace in Afghanistan will be impossible without Pakistan playing a constructive role.” This is how Ambassador Michael Steiner, Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, summed up his expectations when he addressed Pakistan Generals and representatives of Pakistan’s National Assembly.

In the run-up to the important conferences on Afghanistan to be held on 2 November in Istanbul and on 5 December in Bonn, Ambassador Michael Steiner, Special Representative of the Federal Government for Afghanistan and Pakistan, emphasized the importance of regional cooperation during the second civil-military seminar organized with the support of the Federal Foreign Office.

From 23 to 30 October, brigade commanders from the Pakistan-Afghan border regions of North and South Waziristan as well as MPs from all parties represented in Pakistan’s Parliament held talks under the motto “Afghanistan – a regional approach to security” with their German colleagues from the Bundestag, the Federal Armed Forces, the Federal Ministry of Defence, the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Federal Chancellery.

Afghanistan’s stabilization is in Pakistan’s own best interests

There was agreement that only a “realistic” approach to Afghanistan would have any chance of success. It was seen as essential not to leave the country to its own devices again after the withdrawal of international troops. Furthermore, the country’s stabilization was in the own best interests of its neighbour Pakistan. The guests from Pakistan explained the practical challenges posed by fighting terrorism along the 2600-kilometre-long Pakistan-Afghan border.

During the seminar it became clear that the increased self-confidence of Pakistan’s Parliament has become crucial to constructive civil-military cooperation in Pakistan. The guests from Pakistan took particular interest in the German presentations on the Bonn conference, on the integrative approach taken within the German Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) and on cooperation between the German Parliament and foreign and development policy players.

The civil-military series of dialogue events is conducted on behalf of the Federal Foreign Office by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Defence and the German Embassy in Islamabad.

Last updated 31.10.2011