Pak PM Imran Khan says will close Durand Line if Taliban forcibly seize power in Afghanistan

Kabul [Afghanistan], June 28 (ANI): Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday said that Pakistan would close borders if the Taliban forcibly seized power in Afghanistan.

Quoting Dawn, Afghanistan Times reported Khan as saying that Afghanistan could connect Pakistan’s trade ties with the central Asian countries.

He said that Pakistan would pay all-out efforts to press the Taliban to engage in negotiations with the Afghan government.

Pakistan has finished over 80 per cent of the Durand Line fencing along with Afghanistan despite facing backlash from the people on both sides of the line.

The violence remains at an unabated high level- with the Taliban stepping up offensive across the country.

Earlier, the UN Security Council in a report said that the Taliban sought military victory and that some of the group’s top leaders sans intention for peace.

Chairman of the high council for national reconciliation, Abdullah Abdullah on Saturday called for the continuation of peace talks to end the ongoing conflicts.

Pakistan is blamed for providing financial and logistic support to the Taliban. The terrorist group has been enjoying safe havens and training camps there.

Meanwhile, last week, Pakistan was retained on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) ‘grey list’ for failing to effectively implement the global FATF standards and over its lack of progress on investigation and prosecution of senior leaders and commanders of UN-designated terror groups.

Announcing the decision at a virtual press conference five-day plenary meeting, FATF President Dr Marcus Pleyer had said Pakistan will remain on the grey list till it addresses all items on the original action plan agreed to in June 2018 as well as all items on a parallel action plan handed out by the watchdog’s regional partner – the Asia Pacific Group (APG) – in 2019.

Pakistan has been on the FATF’s grey list for deficiencies in its counter-terror financing and anti-money laundering regimes since June 2018.

Pakistan is facing the difficult task of getting its name off from the FATF grey list. As things stand, Islamabad is finding it difficult to shield terror perpetrators and implement the FATF action plan at the same time. (ANI)