No sustainable Afghan solution without Pakistan: US Senator
Pakistan must be part of a "sustainable solution" to the conflict in Afghanistan, says US Senator Lindsey Graham as Islamabad and Washington explore new possibilities for expanding their cooperation in Talibandominated Kabul.
After a meeting with Pakistan's US Ambassador Asad Majeed Khan, Senator Graham emphasised Islamabad's key role in the Afghan conflict in a series of tweets posted on his official site. "Any sustainable solution in Afghanistan must include Pakistan," he wrote, while calling the region "very complicated" and the current situation "dangerous".
Mr Graham, a senior Republican senator, was close to former US president Donald Trump and is still considered an influential lawmaker on Capitol Hill.
"We all must remember Pakistan is a nuclear-armed nation," he said, pointing out that Pakistan too had its concerns about militants in Afghanistan. "There is a Pakistan version of the Taliban who wishes (to) topple the Pakistani government and military," he wrote in a reference to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, which has carried out gruesome attacks inside Pakistan, targeting schoolchildren and others.
Qureshi stresses importance of an 'inclusive political settlement as the best way forward' Senator Graham praised Pakistan's cooperation in facilitating the evacuation of Americans and others from Afghanistan, saying: "Very much appreciate the efforts of the Pakistani government to assist with the evacuation of US citizens, our allies, and other nations.".
Responding to the US senator in a tweet, Ambassador Khan said he discussed the Afghan situation with the US lawmaker and briefed him on Pakistan's efforts to support evacuations from Afghanistan.
The US approached Islamabad to facilitate the evacuation and asked the Pakistani govt also to use its influence to normalise the situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover. Pakistan is part of the so-called Extended Troika that Washington believes can play an effective role in enabling a political settlement in Afghanistan.