PM terms hasty int’l withdrawal from Afghanistan unwise

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has said on Sunday that a hasty international withdrawal from Afghanistan would be unwise. In an article published in the leading US daily Washington Post, the PM Imran Khan said only an Afghan-owned and Afghan-led reconciliation process, which recognizes Afghanistan’s political realities and diversity can produce lasting peace. He said negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban in Doha, Qatar for political settlement will bring an end to decade’s old war. The premier said through decades of conflict, Pakistan has dealt with the responsibility of taking care of more than 4 million Afghan refugees. He said when President Trump wrote to me in late 2018 for Pakistan’s assistance to achieve a negotiated political settlement in Afghanistan, we had no hesitation in assuring that Pakistan would make every effort to facilitate such an outcome. Imran Khan said we should also guard against regional spoilers who are not invested in peace and see instability in Afghanistan. He said Pakistan will continue to support the Afghan people in their quest for a unified, independent and sovereign Afghanistan that is at peace with itself and its neighbors.TLTP