ISLAMABAD – Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood gave stern warningmessage to the US top officials.
Pakistan said that the United States must remain engaged in Afghanistan’sreconstruction even if it succeeds in withdrawing troops and ending itslongest war.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi was visiting Washingtonwhere he is set to speak to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the growingmomentum toward a deal between the United States and the Taliban.
Qureshi warned the United States not to return to neglect of Afghanistan,as seen after 1989 when Soviet troops pulled out under pressure fromguerrillas backed by Washington and Islamabad.
“Do not repeat the ‘80s,” Qureshi said at the Centre for Strategic andInternational Studies on the eve of his talks with Pompeo.
“Even if there is a successful agreement, challenges will remain there, sothe United States and its friends and coalition partners will have to havea more responsible withdrawal,” he said.
“They should remain engaged — not to fight, but to rebuild,” he said.
Read Top Stories
The United States returned to Afghanistan in 2001 in an invasion to out theTaliban, whose extremist regime welcomed Osama Bin Laden, the mastermindbehind the Sept.11 attacks.
President Donald Trump is eager to remove the more than 12,000 US troopsremaining in Afghanistan, seeing the war as no longer worth its cost.
The Taliban, in their latest negotiations with the United States in Doha,have proposed a brief ceasefire in hopes of building momentum to a deal.
Pakistan was the main backer of the former Taliban regime and maintainscontacts.
Qureshi says he has seen a willingness from the Taliban to reduce theviolence.
