The Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) organized a Public Talk on November 12, 2019 under its Distinguished Lecture Series titled, “How Pakistan and the US Can Provide a Plan B for Afghanistan”. Dr. Marvin G. Weinbaum, Director, Afghanistan and Pakistan Program at the Middle East Institute, Washington, DC was the guest speaker at the occasion.
In his opening remarks, the Director General of ISSI Ambassador Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry stated that Dr. Weinbaum has offered to speak to us on a topic that has kept the policy makers engaged for nearly four decades. Despite nearly two decades of rampant violence in Afghanistan, the last few months witnessed signs of hope for a political settlement to end the Afghan war. After nine rounds of direct talks between the US and the Taliban via the Doha talks, it appeared that the complex Afghan jigsaw might finally come together. However, this optimism came to an abrupt end when President Trump declared that the talks with the Taliban were effectively ‘dead’.
