The former finance minister has asserted that Pakistan’s role in Afghanistan has not come without controversy.
While speaking in an interview on the Mehdi Hasan show, Hina Rabbani was asked she was aware of Pakistan’s connection with the Afghan Taliban to which the former minister responded, “Did CIA not have contact with Afghan Taliban?”.
Hina Rabbani also shared that she wants people to focus on where Pakistan is at today. “1996 and 2021 Pakistan are very different,” she claimed and asserted that people should not judge the Pakistan of 2021 by the role that the country played in 1996.
Pakistan’s role in Afghanistan hasn’t come without controversy, but @Hina_RKhar wants people to focus on where the country is at today.
“1996 and 2021 Pakistan are very different…Please do not judge the Pakistan of 2021 by the role that Pakistan played in 1996.” pic.twitter.com/nVffNlXIdX
— The Mehdi Hasan Show (@MehdiHasanShow) August 17, 2021
Rabbani also stated, “The leverage is expected from Pakistan, the country never had and whatever leverage Pakistan had it used to bring it to the table of negotiation, and then America and the Taliban used negotiation what we supposed was a peace talk.”
She went on to say the so-called negotiation turned out to be the Usforces’ withdrawal from Afghanistan.”When the US itself gave the final date of moving out from Afghanistan what leverage can anyone has?” she asked.
After the end of the 20-year war imposed by the United States, the Taliban have regained power in Afghanistan and around the world where there are different views related to it. Importantly, the United Nations has raised questions about the future of women and young girls in Afghanistan, and there is serious debate about what the future holds for women in Afghanistan after the Taliban take power.
Speaking in a TV interview, Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said, “We ensure the protection of women’s rights, the freedom of the media, and the freedom of diplomats,” he said.
Read more: Taliban has won as militants enter Kabul, says former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani
Hezb-e-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, on the other hand, said the Afghan government was reluctant to end the fighting and relinquish power, delaying the transfer of power to a government acceptable to all.
In an interview, he said the Taliban initially avoided entering Kabul, but some people were taking advantage of the situation. “People should take their safety into their own hands,” he said.
