Peaceful resolution of Afghan crisis, peace in region significant for Pakistan: Moeed

ISLAMABAD: Adviser to Prime Minister on National Security, Dr Moeed Yusuf says the peaceful resolution of Afghan crisis and peace in the region is an existential matter for Pakistan.

Addressing an interactive session with foreign media on evolving Afghanistan situation, he said Pakistan wants to make sure that the international community must play its due role in bringing stability to the conflict hit region of Afghanistan.

He underlined that if the global community made the Taliban a pariah in the region, it would incur drastic impacts in the form migration and terrorism spill over to Pakistani side.

Dr Moeed Yusuf said due to our prevailing economic situation, we are not able bear the burden of more refugee inflow in Pakistan. 

Replying to a query, the Adviser on National Security said Pakistan wants a dignified return of the Afghan refugees to their country. The Office of the National Security Adviser has demanded a US based Journal ‘The Times’ a clarification and retraction from it’s misleading and frivolous interpretation of NSA Dr Moeed Yusuf’s interview with journalist Christina Lamb.

The NSA in a media release issued on Sunday said that a story titled “Work with the Taliban or Repeat the Horror of the 1990s, West Told,” authored by Christina Lamb was published in The Times on August 28, 2021 which wrongly interpreted his interview.

The story’s sub-title reads, “Risk a second 9/11 if you don’t recognize Afghanistan’s new leaders, Pakistan’s national security adviser warns”.

This connotation was fabricated and total wrongly attributed to the National Security Adviser.

The statement said it is a gross mischaracterization of the conversation that took place between Ms. Lamb and the NSA.

At no point did he state that the West should “immediately recognize” the Taliban, as the article states.

Nor was there any “warning” of a second 9/11 linked to formal “recognition” of the Taliban.