“The Pakistan Islamic government has not co-operated with us to ensure peace and security in Afghanistan, which is disappointing for us.”
You and millions of other people. “Karzai accuses Pakistan of ‘double game’ over militants,” from BBC News, October 3:
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, in a thinly veiled attack on Pakistan, has said a “double game” is being played in the fight against militants.
Mr Karzai said Pakistan had not co-operated on security issues “which is disappointing for us”, but insisted talks with Islamabad should continue.
He said he would convene a loya jirga (Afghan assembly) following the killing of peace envoy Burhanuddin Rabbani.
They have laid the blame on the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani network and also accused Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the ISI, of involvement – a charge Islamabad denies.
Rabbani had been tasked with negotiating with the Taliban, but was killed by a suicide bomber claiming to be a peace envoy from the insurgents.
After the killing on 20 September, Mr Karzai said Kabul would no longer hold peace talks with the Taliban but would instead focus on dialogue with Pakistan.
‘Sacred hope’
In his televised address on Monday, he described Afghanistan and Pakistan as “inseparable brothers” but added: “Despite all destructions, calamities and problems, faced by both our country and Pakistan, a double-standard game and [the use of] terrorism as a tool continued.
“The Pakistan Islamic government has not co-operated with us to ensure peace and security in Afghanistan, which is disappointing for us.”
He said peace was “the sacred hope” of the Afghan people but “it should be defined whom should we make peace with”.
“In reality we are confronted with governments not the forces which are dependent on them. Therefore we should talk to the main side, which has got the authority.”…
That may have been Pakistan’s aim all along, in order to maintain influence on any potential deal with the Taliban.