Taliban leader not ready for talks with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani: PM

By Shakeel Ahmed

ISLAMABAD : Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the Taliban leader is not ready for talks with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

Talking to foreign journalists, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that the United States considers Pakistan useful only in the context of the ‘dirt’ it is leaving in Afghanistan after 20 years of fighting. Attempts were made to find a military solution to the problem, but there was no military solution.

The Prime Minister said that Islamabad was not taking sides in Afghanistan. He said that the Americans have decided that now their strategic partner will be India and that is why Pakistan is being treated differently. In the current situation, a political settlement in Afghanistan seems difficult. When the Taliban visited Pakistan to reach a settlement, they tried to persuade him. Taliban leaders have said they will not talk to the Afghan government as long as President Ashraf Ghani is present.

Prime Minister Imran Khan said that Pakistan has made it clear that it does not want any US military base in the country after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.