Pakistan is responsible for war in Afghanistan, says Pashtun leader amid Taliban offensive

Pashtun leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai denounced the Imran Khan-led government in Pakistan for its support to the war in Afghanistan. Achakzai, who is the leader of Pakistan’s Awwami National Party's leader also noted that peace in the war-stricken nation is essential for regional stability. As per news agency ANI, he recently also said that the world should respect Afghanistan’s independence as the Taliban continues to make advancements in the country and has even reimposed some of its repressive laws.

He reportedly said that if Pakistan failed to take action, the war in Afghanistan would eventually reach Islamabad. Achakzai added, “There is a need for a single flag to be flown over Afghanistan and the world should respect the independence of Afghanistan.” Meanwhile, Taliban and the Afghanistan government are still poles apart in the United States-backed peace negotiations with the insurgent group demanding “the lion’s share of power” in any new government in the war-stricken country, said the special US envoy on August 3.

Afghan-born US veteran diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad assessed that Taliban-Afghan peace process as the extremists continue to make political advancements on provincial capitals that have uprooted tens of thousands of civilians as the US troop withdrawal nears its completion after 20 years of war.

"At this point, they (the Taliban) are demanding that they take the lion's share of power in the next government given the military situation as they see it," Khalilzad told the Aspen Security Forum in an online conference.

'Sudden US Troop Withdrawal Is Worsening Situation'

Earlier, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani on August 2 said the country’s deteriorating situation in the face of the Taliban's advancements is due to the “sudden” decision of the United States to withdraw its troops. However, Ghani also added that his government had a plan to bring the situation under control within a period of six months. With the withdrawal of American troops, Taliban insurgents have moved into three provincial capitals in the last few days. Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden has already announced that American soldiers would leave the war-stricken country by September. 

In a speech to the Afghan parliament, Ghani said, “The current situation is due to a sudden decision on the withdrawal of the international troops...We have had an unexpected situation in the last three months."

IMAGE: Representative