Global Powers Should Assist Interim Afghan Gov't During Transition - Pakistani Ambassador

ST. PETERSBURG (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd September, 2021) The international community and regional neighbors need to assist the interim Afghan government throughout the transition period to ensure that the country remains stable and peaceful, Mansoor Ahmad Khan, the Pakistani ambassador to Afghanistan, told Sputnik.

"International community and neighboring countries also need closely to collaborate with the new Afghan government and other segments of the society to insure that Afghanistan won't slide again to the period of civil war, internal fighting or instability," Khan said.

He stressed that Pakistan as one of the countries closest to Afghanistan with a 2,600-kilometer (1,600-mile) shared border is invested in ensuring lasting peace and stability in the region. Khan noted that, over the past few years, Islamabad has been actively engaged in the Afghan political process, including with the Taliban (a terrorist group banned in Russia), as it does not believe that a military solution can help bring stability to Afghanistan.

A month ago, the Taliban entered Kabul. The last province to resist the group, Panjshir, surrendered on September 6.

As international troops withdrew from the country and foreign evacuations were completed, the Taliban unveiled the composition of the all-male interim cabinet, headed by Mohammad Hasan Akhund, a former foreign minister during the Taliban rule, who has been under UN sanctions since 2001.