WHILE much of the focus when it comes to Afghanistan is rightly on ensuring that the recent presidential election produces a result that is nationally acceptable and politically viable, there is another important part of the vexing Pak-US-Afghan relationship that has been quietly receiving attention too.

Meetings between senior Pakistani officials and representatives and their Afghan and American counterparts in recent days have underlined a basic and continuing concern of the Pakistani state: that while an American withdrawal from Afghanistan is necessary and desirable, it should be done in a manner that reduces the possibility of Afghanistan plunging into chaos again.

Until US Secretary of State John Kerry spent a full day directly working out a compromise between Afghan presidential hopefuls Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah and getting Afghan President Hamid Karzai to accept renewed foreign intervention in Afghan politics, there was a sense that the Obama administration had essentially written off Afghanistan.

Beyond getting Western troops out safely and doing the little that was necessary to stave off an immediate collapse, it was difficult to discern any coherent or meaningful policy.

Islamabad, Kabul working on joint code of conduct

While it is not easy to discover quite what the message Pakistani officials and representatives have conveyed to their Afghan and American counterparts is, it is safe to say that there is genuine concern in Pakistan on at least three fronts.

First, there is the issue of the North Waziristan operation and ensuring that Afghanistan does not become a safe haven for yet more Pakistan-centric militants.

Second, there is the question of ensuring that the political government in Kabul finds some kind of acceptable compromise — reconciliation — with the Afghan Taliban before civil war appears on the horizon as a possibility.

Third, there is the regional configuration of power and where Afghanistan slots in when it comes to the potential for a growing web of regional trade and commerce.

None of these issues are new nor are the starting points of all sides unknown.

Yet, it is also safe to say that nowhere near has adequate homework been done by any side to ensure that the next phase in Afghanistan’s turbulent political and security history will begin on the right note.

For Pakistan, as the stakes have risen, so has the urgency in its diplomacy. As long as genuineness and commitment are demonstrated now, there can be a legitimate expectation that the US and Afghan administrations will work with Pakistan in good faith.

Positive as the signals from the Afghan and the US camps have been of late, there is a worrying focus on the Pakistani side yet again on reimbursements for military operations in Fata. Clearing sanctuaries and eliminating the militants’ safe havens is in the fundamental interest of Pakistan itself — it is surely a cost that is worth paying by Pakistan itself.

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2014