Imran Khan Latest English news | Imran Khan Online News in English at Lokmattimes.com

With the Taliban claiming towns and territories across Afghanistan, the pressure on Pakistan is building up as the scrutiny is falling on Islamabad.Emily Schmall, writing in The New York Times said that the US and others want Pakistan to push harder for peace. But many Pakistanis see a Taliban victory as inevitable, and some are cheering for one.For decades, Pakistan has served as a sanctuary for the Afghan Taliban. Officials have acknowledged that Taliban fighters maintain homes and families in Pakistan, at a safe distance from the battlefields.While voicing support for a peaceful solution globally, however, the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan has been quieter at home. It has not spoken out against pro-Taliban rallies within Pakistan. It also hasn't condemned reported Taliban atrocities as the group marches toward Kabul, says Schmall."Pakistan is really in a bind," said Elizabeth Threlkeld, a South Asia expert at the Stimson Center in Washington. "Even though Pakistan is really concerned about spillover violence and an influx of refugees, they want to keep the Taliban on the side."Pakistani officials deny helping the group militarily, insisting that during negotiations in Doha, Qatar, they pushed hard for peace talks with the Taliban.In public, they have echoed the line taken by the United States and other parties to the accord reached in Doha, warning that Afghanistan would become a pariah state if the Taliban took it by force, reported The New York Times.But Pakistan still allows Taliban leaders free movement into and out of the country and continues to serve as a safe haven where fighters and their families can receive medical care, says Schmall.Some critics, particularly in Afghanistan, accused Pakistan of actively supporting the Taliban's offensive, saying that the terrorists could not have mounted such a large effort without assistance.The US special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, said this month that Pakistan bore special responsibility because of how many Taliban leaders resided within its borders and that it would be "judged internationally" on whether it was seen to have done all it could to promote a political settlement, reported The New York Post.Pakistan's tolerance of the Taliban has taken a diplomatic toll. India, which is currently presiding over the United Nations Security Council, says that logistical, technical and financial support for the Taliban continues to emanate from Pakistan.Afghanistan's President, Ashraf Ghani, claimed at a conference last month in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, that 10,000 jihadis had travelled from Pakistan to join the offensive.Moreover, the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, a banned terrorist group, that has carried out hundreds of attacks on Pakistani security forces and civilians, including an assault on a school in 2014 that killed at least 145 people, mainly children pose a threat to the security of Pakistan, reported The New York Post.TTP claimed responsibility for 26 terrorist attacks in Pakistan. On Thursday the government said it was behind a July blast at a hydroelectric plant that killed nine Chinese workers and four others, a claim the group denied.Moreover, the TTP chief, Mufti Noor Wali, has described the Afghan Taliban's victory as one shared by all Muslims.But a collapse in Afghanistan would carry risks for Pakistan, too, including a possible wave of refugees, and a boost to jihadist movements that target Pakistan's government for the attack, says Schmall."Taliban's recent advancements in Afghanistan, doubtlessly, have boosted the TTP's morale and increased the group's strength," said Aftab Khan Sherpao, a former Pakistani interior minister who has survived three TTP suicide attacks."It is the beginning," he said. "There will be a rise in terror attacks and it will be linked with Taliban advancement in Afghanistan."( With inputs from ANI )Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

Imran Khan, NewsFOLLOW

Imran khan, Latest News

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday informed that the government has decided to double the humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan amid the Taliban's takeover of the country. ...

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan who has publically endorsed the recent Taliban takeover of Afghanistan said that his country is reaching out to all "Afghan leaders" and urged other countries to "stay engaged", to economically support people in the ...

Pakistan could not afford any more U-turns at Afghanistan's situation, hence the government should come up with a clear-cut policy on Afghanistan with political backing and consensus in the country, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutt ...

Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) chief Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Tuesday condemned the vandalism of the statue of the Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Lahore, Pakistan. ...

Coming out in support of the regime change in Afghanistan, Shafiqur Rahman Barq, Samajwadi Party (SP) MP from Sambhal on Tuesday said that the Taliban is fighting for the freedom of their country and Afghan people want freedom under its leadership. ...

Afghanistan citizens are blaming Pakistan for the country's current situation as it gave shelter to the Taliban when its citizens were fighting the terrorist group, said Fabien Baussart, the President of Center of Political and Foreign Affairs. ...

New Delhi, Aug 16: While a section of Pakistani fundamentalists is cheering for the Taliban "victory", Pakistani army chief ... ...

With the Taliban claiming towns and territories across Afghanistan, the pressure on Pakistan is building up as the scrutiny is falling on Islamabad. ...