Islamabad, 19 September 2021 (TDI): Prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, after his visit to Tajikistan for the 20th session Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit 2021, is all see to begin a dialogue with the Taliban for an inclusive government in Afghanistan.
Imran Khan during his address of the SCO summit and meetings with the leaders of member countries of SCO emphasized that only an inclusive government that includes all the ethnic groups living in Afghanistan such as Hazaras, Tajiks, and Uzbeks, could bring lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan. All the countries also affirmed the position of Pakistan. This is also one of the commitments that the Taliban is expected to fulfill to get international recognition.
In a meeting with Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon, Prime Minister Imran Khan showed the resolve to convince the Taliban and Tajik leadership in Panjshir Valley to settle their differences through dialogues. It is pertinent to mention here that Panjshir Valley was the last area to come under the Taliban’s control.
There are a number of ethnicities in Afghanistan that include Pashtun, Uzbeks, Turkmen, Tajik, Kyrgyz, Hazara, Balochi, Nuristani, Aimak, Pashni, and Brahui among others. Hence, power-sharing and an inclusive government in Afghanistan is critically significant for peace after forty years of chaos and instability not only in Afghanistan but the entire region. As Imran khan stressed during his SCO-CSTO address that peace in Afghanistan is vital for the peace of the entire region because instability would lead to civil strife, negative spillover on neighboring countries, refugee crisis, and rise in terrorist acts, drug trafficking, and transnational crimes.
