Britain on Friday confirmed that it will not recognise the Taliban as the new government in Afghanistan but said it wants to engage with the group.
Speaking during a visit to Pakistan, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said, "Britain will not recognise the Taliban as the new government in Kabul", reported Al Jazeera.
Raab further stated, "new realities in Afghanistan" must be dealt with and also said that the UK does not want to see the "social and economic fabric of the country broken."
Meanwhile, stressing the importance of talks with the Taliban, he said that the evacuation process could not have been possible without some degree of cooperation with the group, reported Al Jazeera.
He said it would not have been possible to evacuate some 15,000 people from Kabul without some degree of cooperation with the Taliban, who seized Kabul on August 15.
"We do see the importance of being able to engage and having a direct line of communication," he said.
Raab is on a two-day visit to discuss the situation in Afghanistan. He will be in Pakistan till September 3.
He will hold talks with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on the evolving situation in Afghanistan and bilateral matters, Geo News reported.
Foreign Secretary Raab is also scheduled to have an interaction at the leadership level, the Foreign Office said in a statement. He will meet Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief of the Army Staff Qamar Javed Bajwa.
( With inputs from ANI )
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