Pakistan NSA tries to pull back warning of 'another 9/11' attack if Taliban govt ignored

A recent interview of Pakistan National Security Adviser (NSA) Moeed Yousuf with The Times journalist Christina Lamb has sparked controversy after he asserted the risk of 'second 9/11'. The September 11, 2001 attack which is often referred to as 9/11, were a series of coordinated terrorist attacks by the Wahhabi Islamist terrorist group al-Qaeda against the United States. A story titled “Work with the Taliban or Repeat the Horror of the 1990s, West Told,” which was authored by Christina Lamb, claimed that the Pakistan NSA indicated a possible 9/11 like attack, if the western countries do not recognise the Taliban, an extremist group which recently took over Afghanistan and reportedly responsible for August 26 bomb blast at the Kabul Airport. 

Pak NSA refuted the claims of the media report

In The Times interview, Yusuf had said, "Mark my words. If the mistakes of the Nineties are made again and Afghanistan abandoned, the outcome will be absolutely the same -- a security vacuum filled by undesirable elements who will threaten everyone, Pakistan and the West." However, the Office of the Pak NSA refuted the claims of the media report that was published on August 28. Later on August 29, Sunday, the office released a statement on and demanded 'The Times' to retract what they called a "frivolous" interpretation of Yusuf's interview with journalist Christina Lamb.                                                                     

Statement was wrongly interpreted by the interviewer: Pak NSA Office

It said that the statement of Pakistan NSA Dr Moeed Yusuf which was published in The Times on August 28, 2021, was wrongly interpreted by the interviewer and make "no sense". Islamabad NSA's office termed the British publication's story as a "gross mischaracterization" of the conversation that took place between journalist Lamb and Yousuf. "At no point did he state that the West should 'immediately recognize' the Taliban, as the article states. Nor was there any "warning" of a second 9/11 linked to formal "recognition" of the Taliban," the statement of Yousuf's office added, as quoted by Radio Pakistan.

It is worth mentioning that the statement further created uproar internationally as a majority of Afghans and experts believe that Pakistan is the "key player" behind the Taliban's aggressive advance against the government forces in Afghanistan. Experts also consider Islamabad has been assisting the terror group on all possible fronts. On several occasions, Pakistani citizens living in Afghanistan were seen exchanging sweets whenever the Taliban capture any provinces of Afghanistan. 

(With inputs from ANI)

(Image Credit: @YusufMoeed Twitter/ANI)