Pak was a hired gun: Imran on US war on terror in Afghanistan

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has said the US war against terrorism was “disastrous” for Pakistan as Washington used Islamabad like a “hired gun” during their 20-year presence in Afghanistan.

“We (Pakistan) were like a hired gun,” Khan said in an interview with CNN. “We were supposed to make them (the US) win the war in Afghanistan, which we never could.” Khan said that the US’ invasion of Afghanistan proved to be “disastrous” for Pakistan. He said thousands of Pakistanis were killed because the Taliban and its affiliates saw them as an ally of the US.

"The Taliban hold all of Afghanistan and if they can sort of now work towards an inclusive government, get all the factions together, Afghanistan could have peace after 40 years. But if it goes wrong and which is what we are really worried about, it could go to chaos. The biggest humanitarian crisis, a huge refugee problem," Khan said. Khan claimed that the Taliban are looking for international aid to avoid a crisis, which could be used to push the group in "the right direction towards legitimacy." However he warned that Afghanistan could not be controlled by outside forces.

“No puppet government in Afghanistan is supported by the people,” he told CNN. "So rather than sitting here and thinking that we can control them, we should incentivize them. Because Afghanistan, this current government, clearly feels that without international aid and help, they will not be able to stop this crisis. So we should push them in the right direction.”

“I would imagine he's very busy, but our relationship with the US is not just dependent on a phone call, it needs to be a multidimensional relationship,” said Khan.