Reset with Kabul
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Pakistan's relationship with the Taliban government in Afghanistan appears to be on the mend after hitting its lowest point a few months ago. While several points of contention remain between the two countries, Afghanistan appears to have put sincere efforts into ensuring that its soil was not used against Pakistan during the recent tensions with India.
To supplant India, China also appeared in the picture with offers of trade and infrastructure development to the Taliban. In return, Beijing's main demand has been for the Taliban government to make peace, or at least play friendly, with Islamabad.
Since the recent trilateral forum in Kabul, Pakistan and Afghanistan have made significant efforts to publically downplay their differences and make statements to express interest in improving relations.
Most notably, after years of refusing to take stern action against the TTP, citing their many ideological similarities, the Afghan Taliban have effectively told their 'guests' that their self-proclaimed jihad against Pakistan is illegitimate because only the emir can issue a call for jihad, and in Afghanistan, the emir is the Taliban's supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada.
The Taliban government is also learnt to have made sincere efforts - perhaps for the first time since retaking power - to capture and detain anti-Pakistan terrorists, including Afghan nationals.
All of these moves are not occurring in a vacuum. After years of official isolation, several countries have been moving towards reopening diplomatic ties with the Afghan government, including through the appointment of ambassadors and the reopening of embassies.
While many are still dragging their feet or formally recognising the Taliban government, the appointment of an ambassador is de facto recognition, as the envoy must present their credentials to the host nation's head of state.
But official or not, the biggest beneficiaries of improved ties with Pakistan and other countries are the long-suffering Afghan people.
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