Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said that Pakistan could be “partners with the United States in peace but never in conflict” in Afghanistan, Pakistan’s Dawn news reported.
During a speech in Pakistan’s national assembly, he also criticized past policies that led to Pakistan’s joining the US intervention in Afghanistan.
“When we gave so many services, did they (US) praise us or acknowledge our sacrifices? Instead, they called us a hypocrite and blamed us. Instead of appreciating us, Pakistan was bad-mouthed,” he said quoted by Dawn news.
He mentioned that had never felt more “insulted” than when Pakistan decided to join the United States’s war on terror.
“We decided to become a front line state for the American war on terror. I questioned repeatedly, what did we have to do with the war?” he asked.
Khan said he wanted the nation to remember that period forever and the “idiocy” of the policies at the time.
“Does any country get involved in another’s [war] and lose 70,000 lives?” he asked. “What they (US) said, we kept doing. [Former president Pervez] Musharraf said in his book that he took money and sent people to Guantanamo.”
“The matter did not stop there, they (US) ordered us to send our army to tribal areas. We sent our army to tribal areas. They were our people. What was the result of that?” he questioned. “I was called Taliban Khan when I said this was wrong.”
The premier termed it the “darkest period of our history” when Pakistan was not sure who was its ally. “Have you heard of a friendly country carrying out attacks and drone strikes in your country?” he asked.
“A terrorist is sitting in London since 30 years. Will they give us permission to attack him?” he questioned in an apparent reference to Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder Altaf Hussain.
“If they will not give permission then why did we? Are we subhuman or half human or do our lives not have enough value?” he asked.
In April, US President Joe Biden announced that the US troops would leave Afghanistan by September 11.
Most of the European troops have already pulled out of Afghanistan, quietly withdrawing months before the US-led mission was officially expected to end, AP reported.
On Wednesday, Germany and Italy declared their missions in Afghanistan over and Poland’s last troops returned home, bringing their deployments to a low-key end nearly 20 years after the first Western soldiers were deployed there.
Announcements from several countries analyzed by the AP show that a majority of European troops has now left with little ceremony — a stark contrast to the dramatic and public show of force and unity when NATO allies lined up to back the US invasion to rid the country of al-Qaida after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
On Wednesday, the US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during a meeting with his German counterpart at the Pentagon pledged to work with Germany towards “lasting peace and stability” in Afghanistan on Wednesday (June 30), as he hosted his German counterpart at the Pentagon.
“For decades American and German service members have stood shoulder to shoulder against common threats and to advance our shared interests and values.” Lloyd Austin. “Now we saw this over almost 20 years in Afghanistan where Germany was a framework nation. And as we wind down our mission there, we reflect on our shared sacrifice, including brother German and American soldiers who have paid the ultimate price.”
