Border talks

Islamabad blocked the NATO supply line to Afghanistan in retaliation after a NATO border strike on November 26 last year that killed 24 of its soldiers.

Separate probes by the Pentagon and NATO into the lethal airstrike revealed that inadequate coordination and a lack of “fundamental trust” led to the tragedy. No apology was handed over to Islamabad. On its part, the Pakistani government rejected the findings and reiterated its demand that the US and NATO apologize.

In a recent move to ease tensions, the Pakistani army said in a statement on Wednesday that its commanders were holding talks at a border coordination centre at Torkham to improve border security and coordination.

The meeting, according to the Pakistani army, was "part of tripartite engagement to discuss and improve various coordination measures on the Pakistani-Afghan border."

Islamabad is also expected to re-open NATO supply routes, but will probably impose tariffs, according to Pakistani security officials.

Signs of a thaw

Pakistani experts have welcomed the recent moves by NATO and Pakistani officials to thaw tensions but also stress that both NATO and Islamabad have more work to do.

Last week, Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar went to Kabul to discuss ongoing peace initiatives in Afghanistan and pledged Pakistan's support to them. She also denied allegations that Islamabad was directly supporting the Afghan Taliban to create unrest in Afghanistan.

Security experts in Pakistan say it is in the interest of both NATO and Pakistan to improve relations.

Defense and security analyst General (retired) Talat Masood told Deutsche Welle that both parties realized the importance of constructive engagement despite recent "unfortunate events which led to the present situation."

"Pakistan considers itself an aggrieved party but now there is a desire to normalize relations," said Masood. "What Pakistan wants is that its sovereignty is not violated in future."

Masood also said the civilian government in Pakistan and the army, which many in Pakistan believe controls defense and security policies, are on the same page on this issue.

Post-NATO Afghanistan and Pakistan's expectations

But some Pakistani observers are of the view that recent tensions between Islamabad and the US are actually about Pakistan's role in post-NATO Afghanistan.

The US is winding-up its operations in Afghanistan after a decade-long war against Islamist militants and NATO troops are scheduled to withdraw from war-torn Afghanistan in 2014.

Some experts are of the view that Islamabad is not ready to abort its "covert support" of the Taliban, and this is causing serious problems for Washington, which needs a respectable and safe-exit from Kabul.

Dr. Naeem Ahmed, professor of International Relations at Karachi University, told Deutsche Welle that Pakistan wanted “to see a bigger role for the Taliban in Afghanistan."

"Washington and Kabul also want to take the Taliban on board, and there are reports that they are already conducting secret talks with some of their factions, but they want to exclude Pakistan from these negotiations.” He added, “That is not going down well with Islamabad. That, in my opinion, is the biggest hurdle in US-Pakistani relations."

‘No peace in Kabul without Pakistan's support'

However, there are others who believe that no government in Kabul can function smoothly without Islamabad's support.

Pakistani journalist Farhan Reza told Deutsche Welle from Karachi that Western countries should not expect cooperation from Islamabad when they constantly paint it as "villain."

"They (NATO) must admit its mistake and apologize for border attacks. It is not acceptable that on one hand you kill Pakistani soldiers, in what appears to be a pre-planned attack, and then say it was only a mistake," said Reza. He also agreed with the Pakistani government's stance that the West has to take Pakistan on board to achieve lasting peace in Afghanistan.

That, in turn, means border talks alone will not ease tensions between Islamabad and NATO.

As put by another Pakistani journalist Nasir Tufail: "As we saw in the past, Pakistan can support insurgency in Afghanistan if its interests are not fulfilled. That doesn't augur well for Afghanistan."

Author: Shamil Shams
Editor: Sarah Berning