JAKARTA - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has asked Pakistan to refuse recognition of the Taliban unless the group meets international demands, while reassessing Washington's relations with Islamabad.
This was stated by Blinken in the first hearing with Congress on Afghanistan since the Taliban took power in the country. Blinken said Pakistan, which for the past 20 years has been a partner of the US, also has different and 'adverse' interests regarding Afghanistan.
"Every country, including Pakistan, is meeting the expectations of the international community about what is required of a Taliban-led government if it is to receive any form of legitimacy, or any support," Antony Blinken told the House Foreign Affairs Committee, quoting France24 from AFP. Tuesday 14 September.
Highlights include ensuring the Taliban allow those who wish to leave Afghanistan and respecting the rights of women, girls, and minorities, and adhering to promises that the country will no longer be a haven for outward-directed terror.
"So Pakistan needs to be in line with the majority of the international community in working towards that goal and in upholding that hope," Blinken said.
Although Pakistan supports and is in line with the expectations echoed by the US, on the other hand, Pakistan is also considered to have policies that are detrimental to the country of Uncle Sam.
"It's one that involves harboring members of the Taliban, including the Haqqani," Blinken said, referring to the group designated as terrorists by Washington, which is now part of the interim government.
Democratic Representative Joaquin Castro, one of several lawmakers to criticize Pakistan, called on the United States to consider removing its status as a major non-NATO ally, which gives Islamabad preferential access to US weapons.
Asked by lawmakers if it was time for Washington to reassess its relationship with Pakistan, Blinken said the government would soon do so.
"This is one of the things that we will see in the next few days and weeks, the role that Pakistan has played over the last 20 years. But also the role that we want to see played in the years to come and what it will take to do that, "explained Blinken quoting Reuters.
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Pakistan has deep ties to the Taliban and is accused of supporting the group as they fought the US-backed government in Kabul for 20 years, a charge Islamabad denies.
Pakistan is also rated as one of the two countries, along with Qatar, with the most influence over the Taliban, and the place where many senior Taliban leaders are thought to have fled after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
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