Pakistan wants to help Afghanistan in its efforts to boost security as soon as the militant-run interim government has consolidated its power, the Pakistani ambassador to the country told Sputnik.
“We definitely want to work with Afghanistan and the Afghan government for training the security forces, for the capacity building of the forces,” Mansoor Ahmad Khan said in an interview.
The neighbors share a 1,600 mile-long border. The diplomat said the movement of armed groups in the border area created security and terrorism challenges that require Pakistan and Afghanistan to act together.
“We have been engaged with the previous government and we would like to strengthen our engagement with the incoming government in Afghanistan in security and counterterrorism areas,” he said.
Mansoor Ahmad Khan added that any assistance to Afghanistan would be tailored to the needs and aspirations of its future government.
“At the moment the Afghan government is busy with consolidating its institutional structure and once it is through with this phase we definitely want to get engaged with them because it is important for peace and stability in both our countries,” the ambassador said.
Pakistan has not recognized the caretaker government formed by the Taliban weeks after the latter overran Kabul in mid-August. Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Monday that it needed to become more proactive and live up to its promises.
Earlier, Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States Dr. Asad Majeed Khan had stated since the US withdrawal of its troops out of Afghanistan, Pakistan has noticed a rise in incidents related to terrorist groups, including the Islamic State-Khorasan.
“We are [recently] seeing more and more foreign-based terrorism incidents being taken against Pakistan… that includes TTP [Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, a terrorist group banned in Russia], that includes ISIS-K,” Khan said speaking at the discussion organized by the Stimson Center on the impact of the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan.
The Taliban (a terrorist group, banned in Russia) seized Kabul on August 15 and completed the takeover of Afghanistan several weeks later by taking control over the Panjshir province. On September 7, the movement announced the composition of the interim government of Afghanistan, led by Mohammad Hasan Akhund, who served as a foreign minister during the first Taliban rule and has been under UN sanctions since 2001.
Pakistan was among the first nations to launch air operations to Afghanistan along with Qatar, Bahrain, Kazakhstan, and the United Arab Emirates.
