Instability in Afghanistan has effectively stalled Pakistan’s regional transport connectivity projects, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Russia Faisal Niaz Tirmizi said, stressing that Islamabad wants to see a stable Afghan state integrated into the region.

In an interview with Russian newspaper Izvestia, Tirmizi said Pakistan had hoped the Afghan government would become part of the regional process, but continued instability had hindered Islamabad’s efforts to develop overland connections with Central Asia and Iran.

“Our transport connectivity projects have effectively stalled precisely because of this instability,” Tirmizi said.

He added that a stable Afghanistan would significantly improve regional trade and transportation.

“If Afghanistan were stable, overland routes to Central Asia and Iran would be much more efficient,” the ambassador said.

Tirmizi said Islamabad remains particularly concerned about militant groups operating from Afghanistan, describing the country as a haven for extremists and terrorists.

He warned that the threat extends beyond Pakistan, saying instability in Afghanistan poses risks to China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Russia as well.

The envoy said that Pakistan will participate in the Moscow-format consultations on Afghanistan in October.

Former US diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad has said the Islamic Emirate has “surprisingly” been beneficial to US counterterrorism interests since returning to power in Afghanistan.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Khalilzad reflected on US decisions following the attacks, saying anger and fear contributed to policies that shaped two decades of war.

“Anger was a factor of urgency because the people wanted to see action: What are we going to do about this?” he said.

Khalilzad was a senior director on President George W Bush’s National Security Council when the September 11 attacks killed nearly 3,000 people. Less than a month later, the US invaded Afghanistan to target al-Qaeda and remove the IEA government.

Looking back, Khalilzad said Washington should have considered negotiating with the IEA in the early stages of the war.

“One thought that has emerged is that we should have negotiated with the Taliban (IEA) or included the Taliban in the political process in Afghanistan,” he said.

“We were angry, and we wanted to get information from them,” Khalilzad added. “But if we could have included them … realistically, that could have been helpful.”

He also acknowledged problems with the intelligence used to justify the 2003 invasion of Iraq, particularly claims that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction.

“With regard to Iraq, well, there the information was the problem,” Khalilzad said.

“Without 9/11, I don’t think we will attack Iraq,” he added.

Khalilzad defended the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, saying the war could have continued indefinitely and that the US had largely achieved its original counterterrorism objective.

“We had been there for 20 years. Afghanistan was changed. The war could have gone on indefinitely,” he said.

The IEA returned to power after the US withdrawal and the collapse of the US-backed Afghan government.

Despite the IEA’s former status as Washington’s main adversary in Afghanistan, Khalilzad said its current approach to terrorism has, unexpectedly, benefited US interests.

“I think the Taliban (IEA), surprisingly, have been good in terms of terrorism for the United States interests,” he said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused the United States of using the international solidarity that followed the September 11, 2001, attacks to advance broader geopolitical objectives and expand its global influence.

In an interview with Russian broadcaster RBC, Lavrov said Washington had capitalized on international support for the U.S.-led response to the attacks, arguing that the resulting military campaign and international coalition were used for purposes beyond combating terrorism.

“Relations have changed for the worse,” Lavrov said, according to the interview. He argued that the United States used international support and a resolution authorizing its military operation to pursue what he described as geopolitical plans and greater international influence.

Lavrov pointed to a series of U.S. and Western military interventions over the past several decades as evidence of what he characterized as a broader pattern.

He cited the NATO intervention in Yugoslavia, the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan following the September 11 attacks, and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. According to Lavrov, the dismantling of Iraqi state institutions and the disbanding of the military contributed to conditions that later facilitated the emergence of militant groups, including Islamic State (ISIS), which is banned in Russia.

The Russian foreign minister also criticized the 2011 NATO-backed intervention in Libya, describing the country before the conflict as prosperous and arguing that its subsequent political fragmentation has remained unresolved.

Lavrov additionally referenced conflicts involving Georgia and Ukraine, presenting them as part of what he described as a continuing effort by a U.S.-dominated international system to preserve its influence.

He characterized these developments as an attempt by what he called the “unipolar world” to resist broader historical changes.

“This will continue for a long time. This is an entire era,” Lavrov said.