Taliban’s takeover has led to a new reality in Afghan: Pakistan PM Imran Khan

Taliban fighters sit during the Friday prayers at the Wazir Akbar Khan mosque in Kabul

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday said that a "new reality" has been established in Afghanistan after the Taliban seized power in Kabul and it is now in the international community's "collective interest" to ensure that there is no renewed conflict in the war-torn country and it will never again become a safe haven for terrorists.

Addressing the 20th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Council of Heads of State (SCO-CHS) Summit in Tajikistan's capital, Dushanbe, Khan said it should be a matter of relief for the world that the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban and the full withdrawal of foreign forces from the country happened "without bloodshed, without civil war, and without mass exodus of refugees". Pakistan, which had suffered due to the spill over of conflict and instability in Afghanistan, had an interest in a peaceful and stable Afghanistan, he said.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan. Pic/AFP

"The sudden change of the previous government which surprised everyone, the takeover by the Taliban, and the full withdrawal of foreign forces, has established a new reality in Afghanistan." "That all this happened without bloodshed, without civil war, and without mass exodus of refugees, should be a matter of relief," Khan said.

Financial crisis spirals into despair

Ever since the Taliban took over Afghanistan's capital on August 15, the war-torn country's already fragile economy has spiralled into despair, The New York Post reported. With much of the international community refusing to recognise the Taliban regime, officially termed the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, hard cash is barely trickling in. The currency (afghani) has been crumbling.

Dutch FM resigns over evacuation

The Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Sigrid Kaag has resigned from her role in the evacuation of embassy staff from Afghanistan. Kaag announced her decision on Thursday after a motion of disapproval against her was passed by a majority of parliament, reports Xinhua news agency. "The House judges that the cabinet has acted irresponsibly," Kaag said. "Although I stand by our commitment, I can only accept the consequences of this judgment as the minister with ultimate responsibility."

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever