<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Islamabad:</strong> Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan took a dig at the United States saying it considers Pakistan 'useful' only to deal with the 'mess' it has left behind in Afghanistan after 20 years of fighting and gives India priority when it comes to building a 'strategic partnership'.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">President Joe Biden announced the withdrawal of US and NATO forces from Afghanistan by August 31. There has been a significant increase in violence in Afghanistan after the announcement. "Pakistan is considered useful only in terms of dealing with the mess that has arisen 20 years after trying to find a military solution," Khan told foreign journalists.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>US Treats Pakistan Differently: Imran Khan</strong></p> <p style="text-align: justify;">Khan told a journalist present at the press conference that the US has been treating Pakistan differently ever since it decided to 'have a strategic partnership' with India. Pakistan is angry that Biden has not held talks with Prime Minister Imran Khan since he took over as president in January. Pakistan's National Security Advisor Moid Yusuf recently expressed disappointment that President Biden is reluctant to contact Prime Minister Khan despite considering Islamabad as an important country on some important issues like Afghanistan.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">Yusuf said that if US leaders continue ignoring the country's leadership, Islamabad has other 'options'. However, the US State Ministry has assured Pakistan that the US acknowledges Pakistan's important role in restoring peace in Afghanistan and wants Pakistan to play that role. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke to Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa over the phone this week and discussed the current situation in Afghanistan.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">After the talks, the Pentagon said the US has spoken to Pakistan leadership about the need to destroy the Taliban militant havens near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, as these safe havens are creating more insecurity and instability in Afghanistan. Afghanistan and the US have been criticizing Pakistan for providing shelter and other assistance to Taliban fighters.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Difficult To Find A Solution To Afghan Crisis: Imran Khan</strong></p> <p style="text-align: justify;">Prime Minister Khan told foreign journalists that it is difficult to find a political solution to Afghanistan's problem, as the Taliban is not ready to hold talks with the Kabul government as long as President Ashraf Ghani holds the leadership. He said Taliban leaders had told him during a visit that the Ghani government is a puppet. ''The situation is that as long as Ashraf Ghani is there, we (Taliban) will not talk to the Afghan government,'' Khan quoted the Taliban leaders.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">Khan has taken a tough stand on the hasty withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. The withdrawal of U.S. forces has created a state of chaos in Afghanistan. Khan also repeated that Pakistan will not provide bases to the US military after its return, but it is not clear whether the US has formally requested for the same.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">Pakistan said it has used its influence to pressurize the Taliban to negotiate with the US and the Afghan government to find a political solution to the crisis. Khan questioned the US intent last month, saying that the US had 'really messed things up there (in Afghanistan).'</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"> </p> <p style="text-align: justify;"> </p> <p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/odmHZVWb7ws" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
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