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“Taliban Won’t Talk As Long As Ashraf Ghani Is President”: Pak PM Imran Khan

The Pakistani premiere, talking to foreign journalists in Islamabad, said a political settlement was looking difficult under current conditions.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, as violence escalates between the Taliban and Afghan security forces in neighbouring Afghanistan, said the terror group would not talk to the Afghanistan government until Asharaf Ghani remains the country’s president.

The Pakistani premiere, talking to foreign journalists in Islamabad, said a political settlement was looking difficult under current conditions.

“I tried to persuade the Taliban… three to four months back when they came here,” Imran Khan was quoted as saying by The News International.

“The condition is that as long as Ashraf Ghani is there, we (Taliban) are not going to talk to the Afghan government,” Mr Khan added.

Islamabad has been at the centre of Afghanistan Government’s criticism, as Kabul has blamed the neighbours for raising instability in the region, accusing it of assisting the Taliban in escalating violence in Afghanistan.

Afghan people, on social media, recently ran a campaign blaming Pakistan for the deteriorating situation of the country.

The insurgents in Afghanistan, according to a European Union official, now control 65 per cent of the country after a string of gains as foreign forces pull out.

Both Taliban and Governement officials have confirmed that the Islamist hardliners have captured six provincial capitals in recent days in the north, west and south.

As the situation in Afghanistan continued to turn from bad to worse with intense fighting between Afghan security forces and the Taliban, a total of 50 Indian nationals, including diplomats, left the Mazar-e-Sharif and reached New Delhi on Wednesday.

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