Former Prime Minister PTI Chairman Imran Khan on Tuesday castigated the PML-N led coalition government for issuing threats against the Taliban-led Afghan government, terming the Islamabad’s behavior “irresponsible” while stressing the need for cooperation with the neighboring nation.
Islamabad has expressed alarm about Kabul’s hosting of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants as well as its failure to uphold its commitment to making sure that its soil is not utilized for terrorism on numerous occasions.
Despite the government’s “zero-tolerance” stance, TTP broke the truce with Pakistan and intensified terror actions nationwide, resulting in a number of fatalities and numerous injuries.
“Ministers are issuing irresponsible statements that they are planning to attack Afghanistan; if the Afghan government stops cooperation with [Pakistan], then we will have a never-ending war on our hands,” Khan told a seminar, which he addressed via video link from Lahore.
It should be noted that Khan’s PTI government had advocated for the world to engage with the Taliban administration and not isolate them or it would lead to not only lead regional, but global consequences.
The former premier claimed that the coalition administration was not concentrating on discussions with its counterpart in Afghanistan and that Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-first Zardari’s trip abroad should have been to the neighboring, war-torn nation.
The former prime minister underlined that the government should engage with the Taliban to prevent terrorist attacks on Pakistani soil, claiming that military operations “never” produce results and are a requirement of peace agreements.
“We had a golden opportunity when America left Afghanistan; we tried to better our ties with the Ashraf Ghani government as best as we could and decided not to intervene in Afghan affairs,” he said.
But once the Taliban took over, Khan also kept engaging with them, and he said that “Pakistan helped evacuate foreigners from Afghanistan”.
