Washington, March 27: Pakistan, once supportive of a Taliban government in Afghanistan, has clarified that it does not want a militant takover in its northwestern neighbourhood.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who was on a visit to Washington recently, told the National Public Radio that Pakistan was in favour of the reconciliation process, but said this has to be an Afghan-led process.
“There was a time when there was a Taliban government in Afghanistan and Pakistan felt comfortable with that. But today, we do not want the Taliban to take over Afghanistan,” he said in an interview.
Pakistan was the chief supporter of the Taliban regime from 1996 untill it was ousted in a US-led military operation after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
What the American people need to understand is people in Pakistan, democracy in Pakistan – they are getting their act together, Qureshi said.
–PTI