A military solution to the longstanding conflict in Afghanistan is not an option as it can be settled only through a dialogue between the Afghan government and the Taliban movement, Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Wednesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd January, 2020) A military solution to the longstanding conflict in Afghanistan is not an option as it can be settled only through a dialogue between the Afghan government and the Taliban movement, Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Wednesday.
"The first thing is that there has to be peace, and that could only happen if Taliban and the Afghan government, they seat together ... The most important thing right now, and it is not going to be easy, it is the only option, that the Taliban and the Afghan government seat together. Whenever that happens, it will have turbulence but it is the only way forward. There is not and there never was a military solution in Afghanistan," Khan said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, when asked whether a deal between the Afghan government and the Taliban movement is possible.
In addition, the prime minister pointed out the importance of the Afghan conflict settlement for the safety of Pakistan as the terrorist threat to Pakistan chiefly comes from Afghanistan.
During his address to the forum, Khan also said that Pakistan would not become a part of any other conflict as it adhered to a political settlement. The prime minister went on mentioning several cases when Pakistan was a mediator, including those when it attempted to ease tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, as well as between the US and Iran. As for the Afghan conflict, Pakistan partnered with the US to organize talks between the government and the Taliban.
Since 2018, Washington has been attempting to negotiate with the Taliban a peace deal that would ensure the withdrawal of foreign troops in exchange for the movement's guarantee that the country would not become a safe haven for terrorists. The talks, however, have excluded the Afghan government as the Taliban refuses to engage in a dialogue with it. Some meetings have included representatives of Pakistan, Russia, China and India.
