ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday reiterated that the government will not recognise the Taliban government unilaterally as the recognition of the Taliban regime should be a “collective effort by the countries in the region”.
“If Pakistan was the first to grant recognition of Taliban, the international pressure would become too much for us as we try to turn our economy around,” he said in an interview with a French media outlet Le Figaro.
He continued, “To be isolated by becoming the only state (to recognise the Taliban regime) would be the last thing we would want,” noting that Pakistan wanted the recognition of the Taliban government as a “collective process”.
“As for the conditions for such recognition, there is an international consensus that there must be an inclusive government in Afghanistan. There is also the issue of human rights and women’s rights,” he added.
He said Afghans were proud people who could not be forced to act in a certain way. “You cannot force them. There is a limit to what foreign pressure can do to a government like the Taliban. Afghans should not be expected to respect women’s rights as Westerners understand them,” he added.
The premier expressed concern over the worsening of the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, the possible reflux of refugees, and the US administration’s decision to free only half of the Afghan funds on the United States soil.
In a question about the consequences of the Afghan Taliban return to power and its impact on Pakistan’s national security, Imran said a stable regime in Afghanistan will weed out terror groups.
“We believe that the more stable the Afghan government is, the less these groups can operate. That is why we are so concerned about the stability of Afghanistan,” he said, adding that the Pakistani government trusted the Afghan Taliban “when they say they will not let militants strike from their territory”.
“It is in their interest that regional trade develops from Central Asia through their territory to the Indian Ocean,” PM Imran said, adding that in the 90s, Pakistani transporters were operating freely in Afghanistan.
About a UN report on links between al Qaeda and the Taliban, Imran said: “If terrorists operate from the Afghan soil, the Taliban will suffer. It is in their interest to stop international terrorism.”
‘Partners in peace, not in war’
The prime minister also played down joining hands with US President Joe Biden to strike extremists in Afghanistan from bases in the region.
“We do not want international terrorism to operate from Afghanistan, but this can only be done with the help of the Taliban government,” the premier noted.
He mentioned that Pakistan had already lost 80,000 lives in the war against terrorism after 2001 and did not want a conflict with the Afghan government. “We will be partners with the US in peace, not in war.”
Pak-India Relations
Speaking about dialogue with India, Imran said Pakistan wanted good ties with India but talking to New Delhi without restoration of Kashmir’s autonomy would be tantamount to betrayal of Kashmiri people.
“The attitude of the BJP government and the RSS towards Pakistan and Kashmir is worrisome. We are dealing with a government that is not rational, whose ideology is based on hatred of religious minorities and Pakistan. We can’t talk to them. We are at a dead end,” the premier added.
