New Delhi: At a time when US troops are leaving the country in turmoil from Afghanistan, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan initially blamed the country for “really messing it up” in its search for a military solution and later a political Tried to look for solution. state of weakness.
The Pakistan PM, speaking to PBS NewsOver, said the US should have arrived at a political solution amid the presence of NATO forces in Afghanistan, when it was reduced to troop numbers and stood “barely” at 10,000.
According to news agency ANI, “I think the US has really messed it up in Afghanistan.”
Suggesting that an “inclusive” political settlement that brought together all factions, including the Taliban, would be the “only good outcome” for Afghanistan, he said Pakistan had long been accused of helping the Taliban with military, economic and intelligence inputs. has been accused of doing. He dismissed the allegations as “extremely unreasonable”.
The Prime Minister also referred to the situation in Afghanistan, saying that thousands of Pakistanis lost their lives after the US war in Afghanistan, when “Pakistan had nothing to do with it” in New York on September 11, 2001.
Asked about the latest report of 10,000 Pakistani fighters crossing the border to help the Taliban, he said, “This is absolutely nonsense. Why don’t they give us proof of this?” Khan pointed out that Pakistan hosts three million Aghan refugees, most of whom are Pashtuns, the same ethnic group as Taliban fighters.
“Now, there are camps for 500,000 people, there are camps for 100,000 people. And the Taliban are not some military organization, they are ordinary citizens. And if there are few civilians in these camps, how will Pakistan hunt these people? How can you call them sanctuaries?” he reasoned.
According to the United Nations Security Council, around 6,000 terrorists of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) are active along the Afghan border. The report by the UN Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team states that the TTP has “specific anti-Pakistan objectives”, but it also supports Afghan Taliban militants against Afghan forces inside Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, China told a Taliban delegation that it expected the insurgent group to play an important role in ending Afghanistan’s war and rebuilding the country.
According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, nine representatives of the Taliban met Foreign Minister Wang Yi in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin on a two-day visit during which the peace process and security issues were discussed.
Wang expressed hope that the Taliban would take action on the East Turkestan Islamic movement because it was a “direct threat to China’s national security”, according to the readout, referring to a group China says in the Xinjiang region in China’s far west. is active in.
“(The) delegation assured China that they would not allow anyone to use Afghan soil against China,” Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem told Reuters. “China also reiterated its commitment to continue their assistance to Afghans and said that they would not interfere in Afghanistan’s issues, but would help restore peace and solve problems in the country.”
The visit was expected to further strengthen the insurgent group’s recognition on the international stage at a sensitive time, even as violence continues to escalate in Afghanistan.
(with agency input)
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