‘New govt in Afghanistan a reality’

Islamabad : The best way forward for Pakistan and other regional countries is to accept the new government in Afghanistan and try to engage with it to set things moving in the right direction, said Institute of Policy Studies chairman Khalid Rahman.

He was speaking to a delegation of research students from different universities of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The delegates totaling 21 were part of the 8th International Summer School at the Bara Gali campus of the University of Peshawar.

They held discussion with the IPS chairman about the importance of regional connectivity and post US-withdrawal Pak-Afghan relations with a focus on bilateral trade and people-to-people contact.

The IPS chairman said Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asian Republics could get closer under the new circumstances. He said the Afghan Taliban were a reality, which even the Americans had to accept when they decided to have dialogues with them some years ago.

"There was hardly anything done in the previous Afghan government’s tenure to cater for the vacuum that was certain to take place following the withdrawal of US forces, and this lack of planning eventually led to the fall of Kabul without any resistance," he said.