Imran Khan slams US for opting military solution against Taliban, says 'they messed it up'

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has hit out at the United States and said that it 'really messed it up' in Afghanistan by initially opting for a military solution and then considering a political solution. Khan stated that the United States sought a political solution from a position of weakness. The statement comes in the aftermath of the withdrawal of US and NATO troops from Afghan soil. The situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated as the Taliban continues its offensive against civilians and government troops. 

'US really messed it up': Pakistan PM Imran Khan 

In an interview, Imran Khan remarked that the United States 'really messed it up in Afghanistan' and suggested that it should have instead opted for a political solution. Khan added that the political solution should have been considered when US and NATO presence was at an all-time high during the war.

"I think the US has really messed it up in Afghanistan," said Imran Khan

"The US should have opted for a political solution when the presence of NATO forces in Afghanistan was at an all-time high and not when they had reduced the troops to barely 10,000." he added 

As per its deal with the Taliban, US and its NATO allies agreed to withdraw all troops in return for a commitment by the insurgent group that they would prevent extremist groups from operating in areas they control. US President Joe Biden had announced that the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan will be completed by August 31. 

'Pakistan had no role in 9/11': Imran Khan 

Imran Khan's statement also comes at a time when Afghanistan is in a tussle with Pakistan as the former has repeatedly accused it of aiding the Taliban. Pakistan has been accused of aiding the Taliban and its affiliates militarily, financially and with intelligence inputs in their fight against the Afghanistan government. However, Khan has dismissed the allegations as 'extremely unfair'. In addition, he also claimed that 70,000 Pakistanis lost their lives in the aftermath of the US war in Afghanistan. Khan also added that when Al Qaeda was based in Afghanistan, there were no 'militant Taliban' in Pakistan denying his country's involvement in the attack on the World Trade Centre

"Pakistan had nothing to do with what happened (in New York on September 11, 2001)." said Imran Khan 

"We had nothing to do with," he repeated, regretting that the war in Afghanistan had resulted in a loss of 150 billion dollars to Pakistan's economy.

'6,000 Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorists operating on Afghan soil': Report 

As per a report prepared for the UN Security Council, about 6,000 terrorists of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) are operating on the Afghan side of the border. The TTP which follows anti-Pakistan objectives also supports its Afghan counterparts inside Afghanistan against Afghan Forces, the report by the UN Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team said. When asked about a recent report of 10,000 Pakistani fighters crossing over the border to help the Taliban, Imran Khan demanded evidence. 

"This is absolute nonsense. Why don't they give us evidence of this?" he said '

With agency inputs