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Published 17 Aug, 2021 06:31pm

Pakistan won't make "unilateral decision" in recognition of Taliban says Fawad

While welcoming a peaceful transition to power in Afghanistan, federal minister for information Fawad Chaudhry said on Tuesday that Pakistan would not make an isolated decision in recognizing the Taliban who are in control of the country.

Fawad was speaking at a press conference to brief media about the decisions made at a National Security Committee meeting a day earlier in which members reissued their call for an inclusive political settlement to Afghanistan.

He said Pakistan's decision to recognize the Taliban will be in consultation with regional leaders as well as international powers as the country did not want to make a unilateral decision.

The Taliban took control of Kabul on Sunday as president Ashraf Ghani fled, he claims, to avoid further bloodshed in the war-torn country.

Fawad said that Pakistan had told Ghani that his decision to run Afghanistan unilaterally was not feasible. “How could you run the country when a major ethnicity living in that country is not a part of the government?” Chaudhry said.

On the Taliban takeover of Kabul he said: “We are pleased and satisfied that the change [of power] in Afghanistan neither caused any bloodshed nor triggered a war, which is satisfactory.”

Speaking to the media Fawad also said he wants the new regime in Kabul to respect international rights, "international fundamental human rights, rights that are internationally recognized and we hope they will do that," he said.

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