On 15 January 2013, the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM) organised a closed meeting of experts on the topic of Pakistan-Afghanistan relations.

The special guest of the meeting was Adeel Jamaluddin Khan, a lawyer and Pakistan internal affairs expert, particularly on local issues of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and The Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). He was educated in international relations at Christ Church College, Oxford and at the University of Peshawar. He has taught at the National Defence University, International Islamic University and the Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad. He has worked as a legal advisor to various embassies in the capital of Pakistan, including with Poland in the case of Piotr Stańczak, the Polish geologist who was abducted and beheaded by the Taliban in 2009.

At the meeting, PISM members and public administration experts were also present. The aim was to discuss the current status of Pakistan-Afghan relations and the internal affairs in both countries in light of the NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan by 2014. It was pointed out that one should not underestimate the relationship between the historical background of the conflict in Afghanistan and the issue of tribal rivalries in the region. The seminar also covered the topic of Taliban reconciliation and re-integration in the context of the foreign policy of states neighbouring Afghanistan.


By Mariusz Podgórski
Photos Jadwiga Winiarska