Will not accept forced occupation of Afghanistan: Moeed Yousuf

By Web Desk

WASHINGTON : National Security Adviser Dr. Moeed Yousaf has said that the Afghan government and the Taliban should reach a compromise to reach a peace agreement, adding that Pakistan could not tolerate instability in Afghanistan under any circumstances. We will not accept the occupation of Afghanistan by force.

Speaking to reporters at the end of his visit to Washington, he dismissed the notion that Pakistan had any influence over the Taliban. The internationally recognized government in Kabul has maintained strained relations with Pakistan and now that the search for a military victory to resolve the Afghan issue needs to be stopped, a wide range of Afghans must be included in any future negotiations.

“We have made it clear that we will not accept a forcible occupation. The world needs to make it clear that the United States is investing in a political settlement,” he said. Given the ground realities, some compromises will have to be made, but he made it clear that violence in Afghanistan must be stopped.

Dr. Moeed Yousaf said that his US counterpart Jack Sullivan and other officials in President Joe Biden’s administration did not make any specific requests to Pakistan, but discussed how quickly we could engage all parties to the Afghan conflict in sincere talks.

Rejecting the perception that Pakistan was taking advantage of the Taliban, he said that Pakistan had used its limited influence to encourage the Taliban to negotiate with the Afghan government in Doha now that the army had withdrawn from Afghanistan. The Taliban’s influence has further diminished.

Referring to the burden of Afghanistan’s long war on Pakistan, he said that as a result, Pakistan is still home to 3.5 million Afghan refugees. In any case, Pakistan is not ready to see long-term instability in Afghanistan because of its effects on Pakistan in the past.