Imran Khan wants 'peace' in Afghanistan, says 'Pakistan not spokesperson of Taliban'

Prime Minister Imran Khan has stated that the Pakistan government is not a spokesperson for the Taliban and that Islamabad cannot be held responsible for the insurgent group's conduct in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of troops from the US and its allies. Imran Khan also stated in his remarks to Afghan media representatives, which were broadcast on Thursday, that Pakistan will have good relations with whoever the Afghans elect. 

The Dawn newspaper cited, Khan as saying, "What the Taliban are doing or aren't doing has nothing to do with us. We are not responsible, neither are we spokespersons for the Taliban." Khan's words were a continuation of Pakistan's repeated warnings that it would not take the blame if the Afghan peace effort suffered any setbacks.

In a deal with the Taliban, the US and its NATO allies agreed to remove all troops in exchange for the militants' promise that they would not allow extremist groups to operate in regions under their control. American forces will be out of the nation by August 31, according to US President Joe Biden.

"All we want is peace in Afghanistan"

From 1996 to 2001, the Taliban ruled Afghanistan by force, until the US invasion overthrew their government. After the Taliban refused to hand over al-Qaeda's leader Osama bin Laden, who was responsible for the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in America, the US invaded Afghanistan in October 2001. Imran Khan distanced Islamabad once again from the events in Kabul, saying:  "All we want is peace in Afghanistan." He stated that the Afghans had a choice between pursuing a military solution backed by the United States or pursuing a political resolution with an inclusive administration. "(The latter) is the only solution," he said.

"There are three million Afghan refugees in Pakistan, almost all of them are Pashtuns and most will have sympathies with the Taliban. How is Pakistan supposed to check who is going over there to fight when we have about 30,000 people crossing into Afghanistan every day. How is Pakistan going to check that?" Khan asked.

Khan claimed that it was impossible for Pakistan to go through refugee camps to determine who was pro-Taliban and who was not and that the two nations had no physical border until recently. "The Durand Line was imaginary," he remarked, referring to Afghanistan's and Pakistan's 2,640-kilometer border. Pakistan has completed 90 percent of the border wall, according to him.

"We are trying our best, but it is not possible to hold Pakistan responsible when you have over three million refugees here," he stated. He said that it was not in Pakistan's interest to have a civil war break out in Afghanistan. "What interest could Pakistan have in backing someone to take over Afghanistan?" he asked.

In the 1990s, Pakistan adopted a policy of "strategic depth" because it was wary of Indian influence in Afghanistan. As a result, he said, Pakistan will have good relations with whomever the Afghans choose. "We have no favorites now."

Khan said that authorities had tracked the victim's exact route after she was kidnapped and tortured in Islamabad. Taxi drivers, he said, were tracked down and questioned by the authorities. "Unfortunately, what the ambassador's daughter is saying and what the cameras show do not add up. She says she was put in a taxi, taken away, and beaten up. But there is a picture of that taxi and she is sitting there and she is fine," he stated.

According to him, all of the information would be handed over to the Afghan probe team. As Imran Khan pointed out, Pakistan played no role in the failure of 150,000 NATO troops in Afghanistan. "It's exactly like what the Americans did in Vietnam. When they failed in Vietnam, they blamed insurgents from Cambodia or Laos."

He said that Pakistan was told at one point that the Taliban's main sanctuaries were in North Waziristan. "They kept pushing us to take action. Finally, after four or five years, we took action [but] one million people were internally displaced [...] what difference did it make?"

A position of strength, he said, would have been better for the Americans in dealing with the Taliban. "When there were 150,000 NATO troops, that was the time to talk to [the Taliban]. How can they expect the Taliban to compromise when an exit date has been given and a few thousand troops are left?" What the United States would gain by operating from Pakistan, Imran Khan asked, after failing to achieve its goal in Afghanistan for the past 20 years.