ISLAMABAD: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday Pakistan had a “vital role” to play in influencing the Taliban and ensuring the insurgent group did not take over Afghanistan by force.
In his first visit to India since joining US President Joe Biden’s administration, Blinken met his Indian counterpart, Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and other officials on Wednesday before calling on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
His remarks about Pakistan come amid a key visit to Washington by Pakistan’s National Security Adviser Dr. Moeed Yusuf and the Director General of Inter-Services Intelligence, Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed.
“Pakistan has a vital role to play in using its influence with the Taliban to do whatever it can to make sure that the Taliban does not seek to take the country by force,” the US secretary of state told the Times of India channel. “And it does have influence, and it does have a role to play, and we hope that it plays it,” he added.
In an interview with ABC News, Blinken said the entire world was hearing “deeply, deeply troubling” reports of atrocities in Afghanistan, which “certainly do not speak well of the Taliban’s intentions for the country as a whole.”
In an interview to Al Jazeera, Blinken said an Afghanistan that “does not respect the basic gains of the last 20 years, that Afghanistan will be a pariah in the international community.”
The interviews, released by the secretary’s office in Washington, reflect growing US concern that the Taliban were determined to take Kabul by force instead of coming in through a political settlement and a government that included all Afghan factions.
As the United States prepares to formally end its 20-year military mission in Afghanistan on August 31, Taliban insurgents are quickly seizing territory once controlled by the US-backed government of President Ashraf Ghani, raising fears they could eventually try to take the capital Kabul.
On Thursday, in a meeting with Afghan journalists, Prime Minister Imran Khan said Pakistan was neither “responsible” for the actions of the Afghan Taliban, nor a spokesperson for the group.
“What the Taliban are doing or are not doing has nothing to do with us and we are not responsible, neither are we the spokesperson of the Taliban,” Khan was quoted by Pakistan’s Express Tribune newspaper as saying.
He said a “military solution” in Afghanistan had been a “flawed strategy” of the United States, asking what the US could achieve from operating bases out of Pakistan which it could not achieve by operating in Afghanistan for two decades.
“It was a flawed strategy. They should have talked to the Taliban from a position of strength when there were 150,000 NATO soldiers present in Afghanistan. There is no reason for the US to operate from Pakistan,” Khan said, reiterating that Pakistan would not get dragged into more conflict in Afghanistan.
Pakistan has ‘vital role’ in ensuring Taliban don’t take Afghanistan by force — Blinken
https://arab.news/v2qxe
Pakistan has ‘vital role’ in ensuring Taliban don’t take Afghanistan by force — Blinken
- US secretary of state’s remarks come amid key visit to Washington by Pakistani national security adviser and spy chief
- Reflect growing US concern that Taliban determined to take Kabul by force and rejecting a political settlement
Opposition demands Imran Khan hospital transfer as government assures specialized examination
- Khan’s family says he spoke to his sons for 20 minutes, calls for urgent treatment under personal doctors
- Former health minister warns ex-PM’s vision loss could be ‘irreversible’ without immediate intervention
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s opposition protest entered its second day on Saturday as its leaders demanded that jailed former prime minister Imran Khan be shifted to a private hospital for urgent eye treatment, amid the government’s assurance that his examination would be conducted at a specialized medical institution.
A group of leaders belonging to Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ayeen-e-Pakistan — or the Movement to Protect the Constitution of Pakistan — gathered outside Parliament House a day after its members started a sit-in, as police maintained a heavy security presence around the building and nearby roads.
Salman Akram Raja, the secretary general of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, called for the former premier’s early transfer for treatment at Islamabad’s Shifa International Hospital.
“We have been told that there is consent to take him to Shifa International,” he said in a video message. “If that is the case, there should be no delay. We are also being told that one member of Khan’s family will be allowed to accompany him.”
Raja said Khan’s treatment should come first, followed by his release.
“Restoration of the Constitution and rule of law in this country has now become inevitable,” he added.
Separately, Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, another politician, told a news conference at the National Press Club that the opposition’s only demand was that Khan be granted full access to the required medical facilities.
“He has already lost vision in one eye,” he told the media.
“His treatment should take place in the presence of his family,” he continued. “Until this demand is met, we will not step back.”
Dr. Zafar Mirza, a former health minister under Khan’s administration who accompanied Khokhar, said Khan was suffering from central retinal vein occlusion, a serious eye condition that can lead to permanent vision loss if not treated promptly.
“If intervention is not carried out even now, it is possible that he may never be able to see from one eye again,” he said, warning that the extent of the damage remained unclear and could be irreversible.
Earlier in the day, Khan’s legal team filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court seeking suspension of his 17-year prison term in a graft case and his release on medical grounds, citing what they described as his deteriorating health.
Khan’s sister, Aleema Khan, said in a post on X that the former premier had spoken to his sons for about 20 minutes following a direction from the chief justice of Pakistan and that the family was now awaiting urgent treatment at Shifa International Hospital under the supervision of his personal doctors.
“We cannot and will not tolerate any further delay,” she said.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said in a social media post that Khan’s further examination and treatment would be conducted at a “specialized medical institution” and that a detailed report would be submitted to the Supreme Court.
“Conjecture, speculation and efforts to turn this into political rhetoric and mileage for vested interests may please be avoided,” he added.
The opposition protest followed a report submitted to the Supreme Court this month by amicus curiae Barrister Salman Safdar, who visited Khan at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail and recommended that the seriousness of his ocular condition be independently assessed without delay.
Medical documents cited in the filing mentioned drastically reduced vision in Khan’s right eye, which led prison authorities to take him to a government hospital where he underwent an intravitreal injection.
Khan’s party said his family and legal team were not informed about the development, which was first mentioned in a local media report.
The PTI has blamed the government for negligence leading to damage to Khan’s vision, though the allegation has been denied by federal ministers who say that the case is being monitored by the country’s top court while promising “best possible treatment.”
Support for Khan also came from former Pakistani cricketers who played under his captaincy during Pakistan’s 1992 World Cup victory.
Ramiz Raja said on X that seeing Khan “suffer and lose sight in one eye is an emotional meltdown,” while Wasim Akram wished him “strength, a speedy recovery, and a full return to good health.”
Waqar Younis urged that politics be put aside and called for Khan’s timely treatment.
Khan, 73, has been in custody since August 2023 in connection with multiple cases that he and his party say are politically motivated, an allegation the government denies.
