WASHINGTON: National Security Advisor Moeed Yusuf said Wednesday that Afghanistan's government and the Taliban must both compromise and reach a peace settlement as the insurgents make rapid gains amid a US troop withdrawal.
Wrapping up a week of talks in Washington, Moeed Yusuf played down the level of influence on the Taliban played by Pakistan, which was one of only three nations to recognise the regime that was toppled in a US invasion after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
"We have made it absolutely clear - we will not accept a forceful takeover," he told reporters.
"But the world also needs to be clear that the US is invested in a political settlement."
He said that the internationally recognised government in Kabul, which has strained ties with Pakistan, needs to stop looking for a military victory and needs to include a broader range of Afghans in any future talks.
"There will have to be some compromise given the ground reality. But the violence will have to stop," he said.
Yusuf said that his US counterpart, Jake Sullivan, and others in President Joe Biden's administration did not make specific requests of Pakistan but discussed "how quickly we can get all these actors in one room to have a sincere conversation."
He dismissed talk of Islamabad exerting leverage over the Taliban, who are widely reported to have maintained a relationship with Pakistani intelligence.
"Whatever limited leverage we had, we used," he said, pointing to Pakistan encouraging the Taliban to enter talks with the Afghan government in Doha.
"Now with the troop withdrawal, that leverage has logically gone down further."
He pointed to the burden of Afghanistan's long-running war on Pakistan, home to some 3.5 million Afghan refugees. "We under no circumstances are prepared to see protracted instability that in the past has caused spillover into Pakistan," he said.-AFP
APP adds: "We will not accept a forceful takeover," he said during a press conference held at the Pakistan embassy in Washington DC late Wednesday, wrapping up a week of talks with the US administration.
"We have made it absolutely clear that we are with the international community on where this goes," he said. "But the world also needs to be clear that the U.S. invests in a political settlement," he added.
Dr Yusuf said the harsh rhetoric of the Afghan government against Pakistan was making it impossible to maintain good relations between the neighbours. "We are beginning to see a very conscious, deliberate effort by the Afghan government to scapegoat Pakistan," he said, adding that Afghanistan wanted "to shift the entire blame of its failures."
He said Pakistan wanted to have very good relations with the Afghan government; however, "unfortunately, the vitriol and rhetoric coming from there is making that impossible."
He urged the government of Afghanistan and the Taliban to "compromise and reach a peace settlement". He stressed that the internationally recognized government in Kabul needed to stop looking for a military victory and should include a broader range of Afghans in any future talks. "There will have to be some compromise given the ground reality. But the violence will have to stop."
Moeed Yusuf said his U.S. counterpart, Jake Sullivan, and others in President Joe Biden's administration did not make specific requests of Pakistan, but discussed "how quickly we can get all these actors in one room to have a sincere conversation."
He dismissed talk of Islamabad exerting leverage over the Taliban. "Whatever limited leverage we had, we used," he said, pointing to Pakistan encouraging the Taliban to enter talks with the Afghan government in Doha. Now with the troops' whdrawal, that leverage has logically gone down further, he added.
Dr Yusuf said Pakistan was no longer in a position to accept Afghan refugees as it currently hosts about 3.5 million. Peace in Afghanistan is nonnegotiable for us," he said. "We, under no circumstances, are prepared to see protracted instability that in the past has caused spill over into Pakistan."
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