Pakistan considers US a 'friend', shares objective of peace in Afghanistan: FO

Pakistan on Friday said that it considers the US as a "friend" and wants broad-based relations to achieve the shared objective of peace and prosperity in Afghanistan, clarifying Prime Minister Imran Khan's comments that Washington sees Islamabad as "useful" only for clearing the "mess" it has left behind in the war-ravaged country.

Foreign Office spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said this in response to media queries about Prime Minister Khan's remarks.

Talking to foreign journalists on Wednesday, Khan said, “Pakistan is just considered only to be useful in the context of somehow settling this mess which has been left behind after 20 years of trying to find a military solution when there was not one.

Afghanistan has seen an uptick in violence by the Taliban after US President Joe Biden’s announcement of the withdrawal of American and NATO troops by August 31.

“We have convergence of views and interests on a number of key issues including the ongoing Afghan Peace Process. We both believe that there’s no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan and we both want to see peace in Afghanistan,” Chaudhri said.

He said Pakistan played a key role in facilitating the US-Taliban agreement for Peace in Afghanistan in February last year.

“We consider the United States a friend and want broad-based relations to achieve our shared objective of peace and prosperity in the region and beyond,” he said.

Pakistan and the United States have a history of close cooperative relations. This cooperative relationship has served the interests of both the countries, he said.

Read | Taliban near gates of Kabul as embassies prepare for evacuations

“We have repeatedly stated that neither should Pakistan be looked at through the prism of another country, nor should our relations be viewed narrowly,” he said.

The spokesperson said that Pakistan wants to build long term, broad-based, comprehensive and mutually beneficial partnerships rather than having transactional relations.

“Pakistan will take all such decisions and pursue policies that are in our national interest and contribute to peace and prosperity in the region and beyond,” he said.

Responding to queries on the Extended Troika meeting, he said that the meeting of the Extended Troika, including Special Envoys of Pakistan, US, China and Russia, was held in Doha on August 11.

The members of the Extended Troika discussed the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan and explored ways of expediting the intra-Afghan peace talks for achieving an inclusive political settlement and bringing an end to the four-decades long conflict in Afghanistan.

Delegations of Afghanistan led by Dr. Abdullah Abdullah and Taliban led by Mullah Baradar also had an interaction with the Extended Troika, which broadly conveyed the messages to the Afghan sides for a need for urgent measures to reduce violence leading to a ceasefire, as there was no military solution to the Afghan conflict.

It asked that the Afghan sides put forward their peace plans on priority basis so that progress is made towards a political roadmap. It also said there is a need for all sides to respect human rights and not indulge in human rights violations.

“Pakistan attaches importance to the role of Extended Troika for bringing lasting peace and stability to Afghanistan,” Chaudhri said, adding that Pakistan will continue to engage in this platform to undertake collective efforts to expedite the peace process.