Pakistan says it is ready to cooperate with any government chosen by the people of Afghanistan, including the current Taliban authorities, while respecting Afghanistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Tahir Andrabi, spokesperson for Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Thursday that Islamabad has no position on changing the political system in Afghanistan and rejects the notion of “regime change” in a neighbouring country.
“Choosing a government is the right of the Afghan people,” Andrabi said, adding that Pakistan is prepared to work with the current authorities in Kabul. He said the use of the term “regime change” in reference to Afghanistan was inappropriate.
Commenting on unrest in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Andrabi said residents were suffering from terrorism and that Pakistan was pursuing counterterrorism efforts with determination. He said the closure of border crossings with Afghanistan was part of those measures.
He stressed that regardless of debate over whether attacks increased or decreased following the border closures, Islamabad’s priority was to protect its population.
Andrabi reiterated that Pakistan’s key demand of the Taliban is to ensure that Afghan territory is not used to launch attacks against Pakistan. He claimed that more than 70 percent of terrorist attacks in Pakistan were carried out by Afghan nationals and said the Taliban administration was obliged under international norms to prevent such activity.
The foreign ministry spokesperson said Pakistan expects the Taliban authorities to meet their responsibilities as a governing power in line with international law. He welcomed as positive a recent declaration by Taliban clerics deeming armed activity outside Afghanistan illegitimate, as well as what he described as encouraging signals from Sirajuddin Haqqani aimed at improving relations.
Andrabi also said Pakistan had dispatched a humanitarian aid convoy for Afghanistan but that it was not permitted to enter by Taliban authorities. He described the refusal by a country facing humanitarian need to accept assistance as unprecedented and regrettable.
