ISLAMABAD: The world must judge if the Taliban deliver on their “assurances” before proceeding to engage with a new government formed by the group in Afghanistan, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Friday during a visit to Pakistan, adding that Britain would “in principle” not recognize the Taliban government at the moment.
Raab was speaking at a joint press conference with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Islamabad during a two-day visit to Afghanistan’s neighboring country.
Since the Taliban takeover on August 15, the world has been looking for ways to engage with a future new government, evacuate vulnerable people and avoid a humanitarian crisis in the war-ravaged country.
Pakistan has been at the center-stage of these efforts, with many top officials from the Western world visiting the country or speaking over the phone with Pakistani leaders to help reach a consensus.
“We will hold on to the assurances that they have made and test their will to deliver in Afghanistan,” Raab said. “We need a greater group of countries around those basic issues like safe passage out, no safe havens to terrorists and humanitarian lifeline. I think it is important at this stage to judge the Taliban and to see whether they deliver it or not.”
At the moment, the foreign secretary said, the UK was “in principle” deciding not to recognize the Taliban’s government.
He said cooperation between his country and the Taliban had made it possible to evacuate some 15,000 people from Kabul.
“We do see the importance of being able to engage and having a direct line of communication,” the British foreign secretary said.
The UK has set up a £30 million life-saving support fund for Afghanistan neighbors, including Pakistan, so they can provide shelter and basic necessities to Afghan refugees, he said.
He thanked Pakistan for assisting in the safe evacuation of British nationals from Afghanistan, adding that his country would continue to provide aid to Afghanistan on humanitarian grounds: “Pakistan’s support is vital and we have [a] shared interest of supporting a peaceful and stable Afghanistan.”
For his part, the Pakistani foreign minister said both countries had “convergence on the way forward in Afghanistan.”
He, however, said Islamabad had to take a different approach with Afghanistan as the countries were neighbors” “We have to remain engaged with them to avoid a humanitarian crisis. They need their basic needs, to trade through our borders and shutting them will create a humanitarian crisis.”
