Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, has warned Pakistan that it would be unsolicited to recognize the Taliban regime if they don’t ensure basic human rights and give women their due freedom.
Blinken told the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee in the first public hearing in Congress that Pakistan has a “multiplicity of interests, some that are in conflict with ours.”
“It is one that involved hedging its bets constantly about the future of Afghanistan, it’s one that’s involved harboring members of the Taliban. It is one that’s also involved in different points cooperation with us on counterterrorism,” Blinken said.
While answering a question posed by the lawmaker that if it is the right time for Washington to take Pakistan in confidence, Blinken said that the administration would soon be doing that.
“This is one of the things we’re going to be looking at in the days, and weeks ahead – the role that Pakistan has played over the last 20 years but also the role we would want to see it play in the coming years and what it will take for it to do that,” he said.
Earlier, the United States’ abrupt withdrawal left Afghanistan in the chaos following the suicide bombing outside Kabul’s airport that killed 13 U.S. troops and scores of Afghans.
Now after the Taliban’s takeover, the US and Western countries are half-hearted to accept the Taliban government but at the same time, they are worried about the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan following the blockage of aid by the foreign countries as they have reservations about the new government in Afghanistan.
However, Pakistan shares deep relations with the Taliban that’s why it is often accused of supporting the group as it battled the US-backed government in Kabul for 20 years. On the other hand, Islamabad denies these baseless allegations.
It was dangerous for the US to stay more in Afghanistan
While talking about the US-Taliban relationship, Blinken said it was the need of the time to end a decades-long war in Afghanistan. “We achieved our objectives in Afghanistan,” he said, adding that the Biden administration successfully signed the peace agreement with the Taliban from its predecessor.
Following the agreement, 5,000 prisoners were released by the Taliban, adding that it was time for the US to respect the pact, otherwise it could lead to more destructive ends.
“The US was likely to suffer more losses by staying in Afghanistan,” he admitted. “There was no guarantee of the war ending anytime soon had the US decided to stay in Afghanistan for a longer duration.”
Blinken further stated that the US has resumed its diplomatic mission in Afghanistan, adding that Washington will continue to help US and Afghan citizens who are staying back in the country.
US to continue promoting anti-terrorism in the region
While outlining the promises made by the Taliban, he said that the Taliban earlier assured that they won’t allow warmongers to use Afghanistan for terrorist activities against other countries.
“The US will continue to play its role to promote anti-terrorism in the region,” he said, adding that the Taliban had also guaranteed to not let Daesh and Al-Qaeda use the country for anti-state activities.
He declared a $330mn aid for Afghanistan this year on a humanitarian basis. Blinken further said the US was working on evacuation efforts at the Kabul airport, adding that it was in contact with Qatar and Turkey.
“Last week, 100 US citizens sent messages, asking to vacate Afghanistan,” he said. “The aircraft had room to take 60 people but only 30 showed up at the airport.”
Lastly, the US secretary of state said the Biden administration had told the Ashraf Ghani government to contend itself against the Taliban. He said China wished US forces to stay high and dry in Afghanistan.