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Pak says it wields ‘modest leverage’ on Taliban; refuses to take in refugees

Written by Shankhyaneel Sarkar | Edited by Poulomi Ghosh, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
Aug 01, 2021 10:50 PM IST

Yusuf who was addressing a news conference at the Pakistan embassy also highlighted that Pakistan was working to ensure that tensions in Afghanistan do not lead to more bloodshed.

Pakistan’s national security advisor Moeed Yusuf on Saturday said that Pakistan is not ready to accept more refugees from Afghanistan. He also appealed to the international community that a secure area in Afghanistan must be created to keep the displaced people inside the war-torn nation instead of pushing them into Pakistan.

Pakistan’s national security advisor Moeed Yusuf said that every development in Kabul has a direct impact on Islamabad. (@YusufMoeed/Twitter)
Pakistan’s national security advisor Moeed Yusuf said that every development in Kabul has a direct impact on Islamabad. (@YusufMoeed/Twitter)

Yusuf who was addressing a news conference at the Pakistan embassy also highlighted that Pakistan was working to ensure that tensions in Afghanistan do not lead to more bloodshed. He along with director-general of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Faiz Hameed also met US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan at the White House to discuss the issues concerning the situation in Afghanistan.

“If a situation arises, it is the responsibility of the international community to create a secure area inside Afghanistan. Why make them dar-ba-dar (homeless)? Make arrangements for them inside their country. Pakistan does not have the capacity to take more refugees,” Yusuf said, according to news agency PTI. Yusuf and the ISI director-general arrived in the US on July 27 to meet security officials which, as Yusuf said, is not a high-level political visit. Pakistan needed ‘direct technical input', he said.

Pakistan NSA also said that the talks were directed at getting results and were not ‘mere optics’. “These are structure-built, high-level talks, using multiple channels,” said Yusuf. The talks would continue towards rebuilding ties, he said, adding, but “you may not get the same feeling as you did in the past of big meetings, big pictures and headlines. These talks are now result-oriented. The focus is on substance, not optics,” Yusuf said.

Pakistan distances itself from Taliban

Yusuf also said that Pakistan does not wield considerable influence over the Taliban but said that Pakistan may have ‘modest or minimal’ leverage. “We have modest, minimal leverage, but if we had the influence some say we do, we would have stopped them from destroying the Bamiyan Buddha in the 1990s. We could have at least persuaded them to force out the TTP,” Yusuf said. He also rejected the reports that Pakistan was accepting travel documents issued by the Taliban as legal documents.

Yusuf also said that the US understands that Pakistan can help in making a political arrangement in Afghanistan and said that he saw a desire in the US to work together.

(with inputs from PTI)

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