KABUL: Pakistan will wait for the announcement of a permanent political set-up in Kabul before making a decision on whether to recognize the new Taliban regime in Afghanistan, its top diplomat in the war-torn country said on Thursday.
The Taliban announced their interim political set-up on Tuesday, with a UN-blacklisted veteran of the hard-line movement in the top role, after the group swept to power in a lightning offensive that toppled US-backed President Ashraf Ghani.
The hard-liners had pledged a more “inclusive” brand of rule this time as US troops completed their chaotic pullout. But all the key positions appointed Tuesday were core, veteran players in the movement.
Pakistan, which has been at the center-stage of developments concerning the land-locked country, said it was closely following the evolving situation in Afghanistan.
“We will wait for the permanent setup and we will also be engaged with international countries and our neighboring countries,” said Mansoor Ahmad Khan, Pakistan’s ambassador to Afghanistan, while receiving a tranche of humanitarian aid sent by Islamabad at the Kabul airport.
“Since there was no government structure for the past three or four weeks, I think there was a requirement of government structure and the Taliban have announced an interim political setup.”
Khan expressed hopes that this interim political setup would work toward meeting the humanitarian and development needs of Afghanistan and its people.
Asked about Kabul protests against Pakistan, he said Pakistan had had a very constructive policy on Afghanistan over the years and it was of “non-interference in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.”
“Some of these protests and some of these assertions which were made in different social media videos... they have proved fake,” the Pakistani ambassador said.
“If you talk about the sentiment of the people of Afghanistan, they appreciate their relations with Pakistan and Pakistan will continue to work for lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan, for strengthening our contacts with Afghanistan, and promotion of economic and regional connectivity.”
Khan’s comments came after a C-130 military aircraft from Islamabad landed at Kabul airport with food and medicine supplies, amid reports of famine and food shortages in the war-ravaged country. He said the next C-130 would land at the Kandahar airport on Friday and another in Khost the day after.
Pakistan’s public and private sectors, and charity organizations would keep dispatching relief goods to Afghanistan through air and land routes over the coming days, the ambassador added.