Taliban don’t need safe havens in Pakistan: Asif

SIALKOT: Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Thursday said the US troop surge in Afghanistan will not make any difference and that a political solution should be sought. In an interview with the BBC, he said blaming Pakistan for US failures in Afghanistan was not right.

“They are talking of a surge by 4,000, or 5,000, or 6,000, whatever. That will not make any difference. We propose that there should be a political approach and a political solution to this problem, not a military solution,” Khawaja Asif told BBC.

The minister said the Taliban had 40 to 45 percent territory of Afghanistan under their control, adding that Kabul had no control of that territory. Asif said why would the Taliban need safe havens in Pakistan when they (Taliban) had their own territory, where they can operate freely without any hindrance and problem.