Taliban Did Not Use Force To Take Over Kabul, Says Pakistan Envoy

In what seems to be a significant policy statement, Pakistan has said that Kabul's fall to the Taliban cannot be termed a 'military takeover'. Pakistan’s Ambassador to Kabul Mansoor Ali Khan said that it was not true that the Afghan Taliban used force to take over Kabul. He expressed these views during an interview with a local TV channel.

While Pakistani officials have been stating that the country would not recognise the Taliban regime if they took over the country by force, the latest statement has given rise to questions about the country's stance in this regard. At the troika plus forum (which includes Pakistan, China, Russia and the US), Pakistan had reiterated that it would not recognise the Taliban government.

When asked if Pakistan would choose to recognise the Taliban rule, the envoy said that it was not a correct impression that this was a military takeover.

He went on to say that on August 15 when the Afghan Taliban reached the gates of Kabul, their leadership asked them not to enter the capital. The ambassador said that Taliban were left with no option but to enter the capital because the government had collapsed after President Ashraf Ghani's departure from the country. He added that the US and other western diplomatic missions were stuck at Kabul airport as they had confined themselves there.

Further, the Pakistan envoy said that the Taliban entered the country so they could stop lawlessness and anarchy.