ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has called for an orderly and responsible withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan, fearing that a precipitous withdrawal may create a vacuum for "spoilers" amid Taliban's warning to the United States against missing the deadline of May 01, 2021 - the agreed upon time limit for American forces to leave the country under Qatar peace deal.
The Foreign Office is yet to give official response on the Taliban's strongly-worded statement on Saturday, in which the armed group has warned of increased attacks in case the foreign troops failed to leave Afghanistan by May 01 in line with the US-Taliban peace agreement.
A senior government official said that Pakistan believes that it is critical that the progress on the implementation of the peace agreement is maintained and further built upon in order to achieve its stated objectives of a peaceful political settlement in Afghanistan.
"As for the withdrawal of the US troops, Pakistan supports orderly and responsible withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan as a precipitous withdrawal would create a vacuum for spoilers," he asserted.
He stated that Pakistan had consistently maintained that there was no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan and negotiations were the only way forward.
"All sides must work together for an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive political settlement," he added.
The Taliban, on Saturday, issued a statement in response of US President Joe Biden's recent statement that some 2,500 American troops could still be in Afghanistan after May 1, saying: "It's going to be hard to meet the May 1 deadline."
"If, God forbid, all foreign troops [do] not withdraw from Afghanistan on the specified date in line with the Doha agreement, undoubtedly it will be considered a violation of the accord by America for which it shall be held liable and which shall also harm its international standing. In such a case, the Islamic Emirate [Taliban] - as a representative of the believing, valiant and Mujahid Afghan nation - will be compelled to defend its religion and homeland and continue its Jihad and armed struggle against foreign forces to liberate its country," the Taliban warned.
The armed group also responded to the US proposal of power-share in Afghanistan, saying: "Afghanistan is the home of Afghans, the establishment of whatever type of government is the lawful right of its citizens, no other nation can impose upon them a government or system from abroad, nor do they reserve such a right."
According to senior analyst, Lt Gen Talat Masood (retired), the situation could lead to further complexities in case of no flexibility on both sides, adding that both the US and the Taliban need to exercise prudence, as instability in Afghanistan could be detrimental for the peace and stability of the entire region.
He said that the Doha peace agreement seems to be in danger and in case of worst situations, the anti-peace elements such as al-Qaeda and Daish could also take benefit of the possible chaos in the war-torn Afghanistan.
"The Biden administration seems to exert a pressure on the Taliban which I believe would be help only if the Taliban are in a weak position. Since, they [Taliban] are in a stronger position and exerting unnecessary pressure could further lead to worsening the situations," he maintained. However, he said that Biden administration would not take any such risk to leave Afghanistan in disarray which may discredit the Democrats with regard to its policy on Afghanistan and the region.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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