Islamabad in contact with Taliban, says Pakistan envoy
Aug 20, 2021
Islamabad [Pakistan], August 20 : Pakistan's Ambassador to Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmad Khan has said that Islamabad was in contact with the Taliban, adding that it wished for an inclusive government in the neighbouring country.
"We are in contact with the Taliban," Khan said in an interview, reported The News International.
"Our special envoy was in contact with them in Qatar, and Mullah Baradar and other leaders of the Taliban held talks with us there. We had also spoken to the Afghan delegation, which Abdullah Abdullah was leading," he added.
He also said that Pakistan wished to see an inclusive government in Afghanistan, as per the newspaper.
However, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has been barring his ministers to speak or issue any statement over the Taliban's recent takeover in Afghanistan, according to a recent media report.
Khan, it said has told some members of his cabinet to keep quiet on Afghanistan as it's a 'sensitive' matter.
"Not all the ministers should speak on the subject at any platform, including media. Only the concerned ministers are authorised to make statements on the current situation of Afghanistan," The Frontier Post reported Imran Khan as saying.
Afghan government -- which collapsed on Sunday- had blamed several times Islamabad for interfering in Afghanistan's domestic affairs and supporting the Taliban to create unrest in the country.
Afghans across the world also called to sanction Pakistan through staging protests and social media campaigns for their proxy war in Afghanistan.
Imran Khan also expressed his happiness that there has been no loss of life of ordinary people following the Taliban takeover saying that now Afghans have to decide their future on their own, The Frontier Post added.
On Wednesday, Imran Khan met with members of the Afghan delegation and said that no other country was as much interested in 'peace' in Afghanistan as Pakistan was.