THE Paris summit on climate change has let in a ray of hope for change in the regional political climate too. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s meetings with his Indian counterpart and with the Afghan president appear to have chipped away some ice from Pakistan’s frozen relations with its two neighbouring countries.

Of course, one must not read too much into the interaction on the sidelines of an international conference; nonetheless, such informal parleys are important sometimes in breaking the stalemate. While the 90-second conversation and warm handshake between Sharif and Narendra Modi got more publicity, perhaps the equally important talks between the Pakistani and Afghan leaders slipped into the background.

Unlike the impromptu rendezvous with the Indian prime minister, the Sharif-Ghani meeting was prearranged with the British premier playing the arbiter. The recent visit of Pakistani Pakhtun political leaders to Kabul had also paved the way for the contact. The two leaders met amidst a cold war that has once again clouded their countries’ relations after the initial promise of a new beginning.

The prime minister’s meeting with the Afghan president in Paris has fuelled hopes for better ties.

A brief period of congeniality turned into hostility after the announcement of Mullah Omar’s death and the subsequent suspension of the second round of Murree talks between the Kabul administration and the Afghan Taliban insurgents. The Paris meeting has certainly reopened the window of opportunity that appeared to have been shut with both sides returning to their chronic bickering.

Although the deep-seated distrust each has of the other is hard to bridge, there are encouraging signs that the two sides are getting back to some serious talking on economic and security cooperation. Army chief Gen Raheel Sharif and adviser on foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz are likely to visit Kabul soon to follow up on discussions between the two leaders. President Ghani has also been invited to jointly preside over the ministerial level meeting of the Heart of Asia being held in Islamabad this month. It is surely time to pick up the threads from last August when relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan broke down.

For sure, all these moves are well intended and demonstrate a sincere desire to revive the process of normalisation. But there is still a lot more to do by both sides to improve the environment for building effective security and economic cooperation. Both have valid complaints about each other. Unfortunately, nothing was done to address these even when matters seemed to have improved after President Ashraf Ghani’s coming to power.

Undoubtedly, the biggest source of tension between the two countries involves the cross-border sanctuaries being used by Afghan and Pakistani insurgent groups. Without resolving this core problem, one cannot hope for any meaningful cooperation between the two countries.

Islamabad has failed to convince the Kabul government and its Western allies that Operation Zarb-i-Azb is across the board and against militants of all shades, and that the state will not allow its territory to be used by the insurgents to plan and launch cross-border attacks. Meanwhile, Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan sanctuaries across the border in Afghanistan remain a serious threat to Pakistan’s security.

It may be true that the roots of the insurgency lie inside Afghanistan itself, but it is the cross-border sanctuaries in Pakistan that have kept it alive. The border region from Balochistan to the northwest tribal areas has long been a safe haven for the Afghan Taliban with the active support of their allies amongst the Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups.

Only a few weeks ago, it was reported that thousands of Afghan Taliban fighters and their Pakistani fellow travellers gathered at Kuchlak, a few kilometres outside Quetta, in full view of Pakistani authorities to pledge allegiance to Mullah Mansour, the new supreme leader of the Afghan Taliban movement. That has further fuelled Kabul’s anger.

The unrestricted movement of the Afghan Taliban leaders and the assembly of Taliban fighters on Pakistani soil could not be justified on any pretext. The Afghan leaders particularly pointed out the event to the Pakistani Pakhtun political leaders who had recently visited Kabul.

It is not only about the Afghan Taliban sanctuaries but also the increasing numbers of Pakistani militants joining the fight against the Afghan forces. Dozens of Pakistani fighters were killed in recent US drone strikes in the Afghan province of Khost and their bodies were brought to their villages in Dir wrapped in the flag of Al Badar, an outlawed Pakistani militant group. The funeral was reportedly attended by hundreds of villagers. Should this not be a cause of serious concern for us too?

Dir is also a region where the Pakistani security forces often come under attack by Pakistani Taliban taking refuge across the border in the Afghan province of Kunar. They are allegedly being backed by the Afghan intelligence services. This war of sanctuaries presents the biggest threat to both countries. To move forward they must both resolve this issue.

Although Pakistani and Afghan leaders have agreed to resume the reconciliation process in Afghanistan, it will not be easy to bring the suspended talks back on track. It is still not clear whether Kabul is really interested in negotiations with the Taliban. There is complete disarray in the Afghan unity government on this issue.

Buoyed by their advances in northern Afghanistan and consolidation of their area of influence in the south and the west, the Afghan Taliban seem to have hardened their position on the talks too. Meanwhile, the internal struggle within the Afghan Taliban has made things more complicated. This has worsened Pakistan’s security predicament as it fights its own militants.

It has been the bloodiest year in Afghanistan since 2001. Now there is a brief lull in the fighting with the advent of winter. But the break may not last long. The Taliban may come back with greater ferocity in the spring. With the rising spectre of the militant Islamic State group in the region, the security concerns of each nation have become more deeply intertwined. The Paris talks have revived contact between the two countries at the highest level and one hopes the two can build on that to fight a common enemy.

The writer is an author and journalist.

Published in Dawn, December 2nd, 2015