| Summary/Abstract |
The rise of Ashraf Ghani in Afghanistan, albeit in a power-sharing arrangement, has led to the generation of optimism in Pakistan.1 The Interior Minister of Pakistan calls it a “quantum leap in trust”.2 Pakistan was one of the first countries visited by him [including his visit to the General Headquarter (GHQ) Rawalpindi]. During his presidential poll campaign, Ghani had said, “Afghanistan and Pakistan have a choice: Do we become Asian roundabouts or do we become cul-de-sacs? The goal is a special relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan that would resemble that of France and Germany”.3 Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain attended the oath-taking ceremony of President Ghani which was followed by visits by the Pakistani Adviser on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz and Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif. Much bonhomie was witnessed after a trilateral ‘strategic dialogue’ held in Kabul.4 In fact, even when four Afghan officials were arrested in Peshawar, the Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister said that ties between the two countries had “entered a new phase and should not be strained by such acts”.5 Interestingly, Moeed Yusuf traces the “strategic shift” in Pakistan’s policy to the pre-Ghani period 2012.
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