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Pakistan won’t support any attempt by Taliban to recapture power: ISPR general
Pakistan’s Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Babar Iftikhar said Wednesday that Pakistan has done what it can to promote peace efforts in Afghanistan and that Islamabad will not support the Taliban in any attempt to “recapture Kabul”.
Speaking to journalists on Wednesday, Iftikhar said: “Even Afghan leaders are admitting that Pakistan has done utmost for peace in Afghanistan.”
Pakistan’s The News International quoted him as saying that it is for the citizens and the government of Afghanistan to determine the future of their country, and how the negotiating process would progress.
“We only aim for a long-lasting peace in Afghanistan,” he said.
On a question on NATO forces’ likely drawdown and a possible return of the Taliban, he said: “Afghanistan now is not what it was in ’90s and the state infrastructure cannot be trounced easily, and Pakistan also has changed.
“It’s impossible for the Taliban to recapture Kabul and that Pakistan would support them. It isn’t going to happen,” he said.
The News reported that he maintained the policy of the Pakistan government to extend a hand of peace to the neighbours was very clear.
This comes just days after Russia’s special envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov visited Islamabad to encourage Pakistan’s support for a meeting in Moscow to help facilitate the stalled Afghan peace process.
Kabulov told Russian news agency Sputnik that his “leadership has set the task of finding ways that will facilitate the start of inter-Afghan negotiations through consultations within the framework of the enlarged troika. We agreed on such a meeting with the American special envoy [Zalmay] Khalilzad. It can happen in Moscow.”
The “enlarged troika” was in reference to what Kabulov said was a group that evolved over the last two years, including countries with the most influence on the Afghan peace processes – the United States, China, Iran, Pakistan and Russia.
VOA reported that the Moscow format was a Russian initiative to organize regional stakeholders involved in the Afghan peace process. Its second meeting in 2018 brought the Taliban to an international forum for the first time. The U.S. sent representatives to observe.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US special representative for Afghanistan, has questioned Pakistan’s commitment to the welfare of the Afghan people, citing Islamabad’s policies over the past three decades.
Khalilzad said in a post on X that Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif advocated for the rights of Afghan women during his speech at the UN General Assembly on Friday.
Sharif said: “Fundamental rights of the Afghan people — especially women and girls — must be respected.”
Responding to the remarks, Khalilzad said Pakistan’s policies over the past 30 years raise questions about Sharif’s commitment to Afghan welfare.
He cited Pakistan’s support for militant groups against US forces and what he described as the poor treatment of Afghan refugees as examples.
Khalilzad also said Afghanistan and Pakistan need and should have much better relations, adding that “a reset is necessary.”
India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met with the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Rabab Fatima, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X that Misri underscored the need to keep addressing the humanitarian needs of the Afghan people as a priority.
Misri also appreciated the role of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and reaffirmed India’s continued cooperation with the United Nations on Afghanistan.
The meeting comes as Afghanistan continues to face humanitarian and economic challenges, with international agencies warning of significant needs among the Afghan population.
Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi has called for pragmatic and coordinated international engagement with Afghanistan, saying the country’s long-term stability is closely linked to the security and sustainable development of Central Asia.
Speaking during the general debate of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday, Tileuberdi said humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan remains essential but alone cannot break the cycle of poverty, displacement and dependency.
He said Kazakhstan supports a “pragmatic, coordinated and step-by-step” approach to international engagement with Afghanistan, with the United Nations playing a central role.
Tileuberdi also said Kazakhstan is working with the UN to operationalize the United Nations Regional Centre for the Sustainable Development Goals for Central Asia and Afghanistan in Almaty.
He said the success of the centre should be measured by the results and assistance it delivers to the region.
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