Prime Minister Khan says US can have 'working relationship' with Taliban

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan speaks during a press conference in Kabul on Nov. 19, 2020. (AFP/File)

• The PM tells Newsweek there was direct cooperation between the US and the Taliban during last month’s evacuation process
• Khan questions the US approach to use India to counterbalance China, saying New Delhi would never confront Beijing to serve American interests

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan told an international publication on Friday the United States could work with the Taliban to address the emerging challenges in Afghanistan and ensure greater regional stability.
The US fought the Afghan faction for about two decades before President Joe Biden announced to pull out international forces from the war-battered country in April this year.
The decision precipitated the Taliban efforts to capture major towns and strategic border crossings in Afghanistan before consolidating their political control in the country.
The group triumphantly returned to Kabul last month without facing any resistance from the US-backed Ashraf Ghani administration, as international forces, journalists and aid workers were still trying to leave Afghanistan.
In an exclusive interview with Newsweek, the prime minister disagreed that the US exit from the region would erode its credibility in the long term since it had “voluntarily” withdrawn from Afghanistan.
“During the Doha peace process, the U.S. established a working relationship with the Taliban,” he told the publication. “There was direct cooperation between the U.S. and the Taliban during the evacuation process. I believe that the U.S. can work with a new government in Afghanistan to promote common interests and regional stability.”
Khan said his administration was “extremely concerned” about the threat of terrorism from the neighboring country while mentioning the presence of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a conglomerate of Pakistani militant factions, in Afghanistan.
He added that his country would work with the authorities in Kabul “to halt TTP and other terrorism” from the war-torn state.
Asked about the larger geopolitical realities of his region, the prime minister said the US wanted to use India to counterbalance China, though he thought the strategy would not yield desired results for Washington.
“India will never confront China, especially not to serve U.S. strategic objectives,” he said. “India's purpose in arming itself so massively is to establish its hegemony in South Asia and specially to threaten and coerce Pakistan.”
He maintained that about 70 percent of all Indian military capabilities were deployed against Pakistan, not China.
“Therefore, Pakistan has legitimate concerns about the provision of the most advanced weapons and technology to India,” he continued. “Apart from increasing the likelihood of a conflict, an arms race in South Asia will divert both India and Pakistan from investing in socio-economic development and the welfare of their people.”
The prime minister denied that the US and G7 vision, Build Back Better World, was in conflict with China’s Belt and Road Initiative, saying that “the current U.S.-China rivalry is unnecessary and contrary to the interests of both these global powers.”