The past few days have seen the revival of the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) meeting involving Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, and the United States and a return of US drone strikes in Afghanistan. The QCG meeting is a welcome development and it came as a result of the recent visit of Chief of Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa to Kabul. The presence of United States on the dialogue table to resolve the Afghan conflict also shows a shift in the rather erratic policy of Trump administration. Initial reports had indicated that the Trump administration was not keen on the revival of the QCG given the new strategy announced by President Trump for Afghanistan and South Asia in August. However the increased drone strikes in Afghanistan suggest that the Trump administration will follow a two pronged policy and will not rely on dialogue alone.
The QCG was set up in December 2015 during the Heart of Asia conference in Islamabad. The main aim of the initiative was to make collective efforts for arranging direct talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban. The group had five meetings before the process met a dead end after Taliban Chief Mullah Akhtar Mansur was killed in a drone strike by the US in Balochistan in July 2016.
The Unity Government in Afghanistan also seemed uncertain regarding talks with Taliban but the visit of Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa seems to have changed its mind. However, the revival of talks to resolve the conflict is only the first steps towards the eventual goal. What happens in Afghanistan will perhaps depend mostly on the military war that is being intensified in the country in the form of US drone strikes and ground operations. How the Afghan Taliban respond to the option of dialogue and the increased military operations remains to be seen.
Pakistan has put in every effort so far to bring the long draw Afghan war to its end so that peace returns to the region. China is also using its growing influence in the region and along with Pakistan it might be able to bring the Afghan war towards its conclusion.