Pakistan PM Imran Khan urges intl community to lift sanctions against Islamic Emirate

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has once again urged the international community to lift sanctions against the Islamic Emirate. Khan said that the engagement with the Afghan Taliban is important to avoid it going back to becoming land for terrorists like in the 1990s. Khan went on to claim that the Taliban can help ‘get rid’ of ISIS (Islamic State for Iraq and Syria).

Imran Khan was talking in an interview with the Middle East Eye when he urged the international community to engage with the Taliban. He went on to warn that the decision to not lift sanctions against the Islamic Emirate could have dangerous repercussions. “It can easily go back to the Taliban of 2000, 20 years ago. And that would be a disaster,” Khan said in the interview.

The Pakistan PM went on to claim that the international community could use the Taliban as a good tool to defeat Deash in Afghanistan. He also added that the Islamic Emirate has promised to respect human rights. He further reminded that the current rulers of Kabul had also promised to cut ties with militant groups. “Believe me, Taliban are the best bat to get rid of ISIS,” Khan told the Middle East Eye.

Meanwhile, several international relations analysts have now raised concern over Khan’s repeated calls for the recognition of the Islamic Emirate. Experts in the field have said that the Pakistan PM’s constant interest in the matter is worrying. According to TOLOnews, Mohammad Khan Andar, an international relations analyst called for the international community to oversee the situation and analyse why Pakistan insists on recognition of Afghanistan’s affairs. So far, the international community has repeatedly chosen against recognising the Islamic Emirate until they respect human rights, especially women’s rights, and ensure that Afghanistan’s soil will not be used against any country.

The US will recognise Taliban 'sooner or later' says Pak PM

Earlier this month, Imran Khan had said that the United States is in a "state of shock and confusion" after the Taliban's conquest of Kabul on August 15. Speaking at an interview with Turkish-state affiliated TRT World, Khan had said, "sooner or later" the USA will have to identify the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan. Joining US President Joe Biden's critics on the US troop withdrawal debate, Khan indicated that the retaliation of the international community by freezing funds of Afghanistan was not the "rational mindset for a way forward. However, Khan rebuffed claims about Pakistan's interference in Afghanistan's internal affairs.

Image: AP