Give Taliban second chance, say Pak officials; urge nations to not 'abandon Afghanistan'

Following the Taliban's hostile takeover of Afghanistan, leaders in Islamabad have urged the international community to grant the Taliban a second opportunity.

Pakistan has been quietly interacting with important international and regional stakeholders with the message that Afghanistan should not be left alone and that the incoming government there, possibly led by the Taliban, should not be ignored. According to experts in the field, policymakers in Pakistan are of the opinion that the international world should refrain from passing judgement on the Taliban.

Pak officials urge world to give the Taliban a 'chance'

During his four-nation visit to Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Iran, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi delivered a similar message. 

In a statement issued on Saturday, Foreign Minister Qureshi stated that Pakistan was in contact with the Afghan Taliban leadership to discuss the next steps. He claimed that the Taliban was sending out positive signals. " If they [Taliban] are giving positive signals the world must encourage them," the foreign minister emphasised.

He also encouraged the international community not to repeat past mistakes by abandoning Afghanistan. “If Afghanistan is left alone that would be a disaster for everyone,” he said, highlighting the significance of maintaining engagement with a country that has been at war for the last four decades. Qureshi is likely to make more visits to the countries that have a stake in Afghanistan's future.

The developments come just a few days after former Senator Mustafa Kamal slammed the Imran Khan government for its "malafide policies" toward Afghanistan, claiming that the country has already paid a high price.

According to reports, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) president, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, advised world leaders on Friday, August 27, to back the Taliban rather than imposing their (Western) preferred government in Afghanistan, which would cause issues in the area. The Afghan Taliban can create their own government and are attempting to form a broad-based government, Fazlur Rehman added.

Earlier on August 15, the day the Taliban took control of Kabul, anti-Pakistan protests were held around the world, with demonstrators railing against Islamabad's participation in the Afghanistan debacle and accusing the government of assisting the Taliban. On Sunday, protests were staged throughout the United States, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Austria in response to the Taliban's capture of important regions and ruthless attack in Afghanistan.

Protests were held against the Taliban in Canada, Australia, Manchester, and Vienna, protesting their aggressive approach and terrible deeds in Afghanistan. Protesters also demanded that Pakistan be sanctioned for its proxy war in Afghanistan. On Saturday, over 300 people gathered at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate to protest Pakistan's backing for the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Evacuation process through Islamabad airport

Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan's capital Kabul on August 15, almost 20,000 Afghan evacuees and other foreigners have landed at Islamabad airport. According to ARY News, at least 332 planes have landed at the Islamabad airport since the start of a special flight operation on August 16. The neighbouring country's rescue mission was limited to the airport in Islamabad.

(with inputs from ANI)

Picture Credit: AP