Diplomatic Fire Opened On the Taliban

President Obama’s Special Representative Visits Central Asia

On the eve of the Afghan presidential election, Richard Holbrooke, the special representative appointed by the U.S. president, started his tour across Central Asia. The tour includes visits to Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkey. This will be his second trip this year into the region that was called to support President Obama’s strategy to oppose terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan as their main priority.

U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke began his regional tour at the end of last week. He will observe the Afghan presidential election, which will be held on August 20th. Before attending the Afghan election, the outcome of which will influence the success of the U.S. strategy in the region, Richard Holbrooke will visit Pakistan, a country that is fighting its own war with the Taliban on its northwestern border along the Swat Valley.

Richard Holbrooke’s visit to Pakistan was supposed to begin on Sunday with a trip to the Swat Valley. Due to bad weather conditions, however, it was canceled at the last minute. Although he was unable to see the Taliban situation on the front lines, that did not prevent Richard Holbrooke from expressing satisfaction at the actions of Pakistan’s army, which managed to restore central authority control over areas bordering Afghanistan in the last three months.

“The highest priority right now has to be to secure the areas in Swat and Buner as the refugees return,” Richard Holbrooke told reporters. His first trip to the region took place in February of this year, a short time after being appointed as President Obama’s special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan. At that time the relationship between the USA and Pakistan was less than rosy. While Obama’s administration demanded a more resolute action in Islamabad’s struggle against the Taliban, they uneasily reacted to U.S. pressure and aerial attacks on the territory by the American unmanned aerial vehicles. At that time, Mr. Holbrooke’s delicate mission was to play a role of an intermediary between Washington and Pakistan’s authorities, and help them find compromise.

After seven months, Richard Holbrooke’s diplomatic efforts yielded results; the arguments between Washington and Islamabad subsided. Yesterday’s joint press conference in Islamabad between Richard Holbrooke and Pakistan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi has proven just that. Acknowledging successes of Pakistan’s army in the struggle against the Taliban, Mister Holbrooke made it clear that Washington is ready to reward Islamabad with additional military technology and economic help. He announced that the U.S. intends to provide new helicopters to the Pakistani army, and other equipment necessary for the struggle against the Taliban, particularly night vision devices.

Moreover, Pakistan is counting on the U.S. removing the current ban on nuclear engineering cooperation with Islamabad. During the press conference, Richard Holbrooke promised to immediately bring up the question before Congress and the White House.

In return, Pakistan Minister of Foreign Affairs Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi refrained from criticizing the ongoing aerial attacks in Pakistan territory by American auto-pilot jets. As a result of one such attack, Pakistan’s Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud was killed on August 5th. Commenting on the situation, the Foreign Affairs Minister stated that the death will weaken the Taliban. With Richard Holbrooke’s evident approval, the Pakistan Minister promised to defeat the Taliban forces.