Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

World must look into 'meltdown' of Afghan forces: Pakistan

World must look into 'meltdown' of Afghan forces: Pakistan

PAKISTAN has urged the international community to look into the "meltdown" of Afghan security forces in the face of Taliban offensives, instead of blaming Pakistan for the fast-deteriorating situation.

Taliban fighters have swiftly gained territory across Afghanistan since May, including six provincial capitals in the last three days, as international forces near a complete withdrawal from the country after 20 years of fighting.


"The capacity-building, the training, the equipment ... where is it?" Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi asked at a news conference on Monday (9), referring to the resources spent by other countries, particularly the United States, on bolstering Afghan national forces.

"Issues of governance and the meltdown of Afghan national defence forces need to be looked into," he said.

Pakistan cannot be held responsible for the failure of others, he said.

Kabul and several western governments said Pakistan's support for the Taliban allowed it to weather 20 years of war after being pushed from power in 2001 by a US-led invasion of Afghanistan.

Pakistan denies supporting the Taliban. Qureshi said Islamabad was not taking sides in Afghanistan.

"The lack of will to fight, the capitulation that we are seeing in Afghanistan ... Can we be held responsible for that? No, we cannot," Qureshi said, adding that Pakistan supported a political solution to bring peace to Afghanistan.

He said Pakistan had been instrumental in bringing the Taliban to the negotiating table with the United States and facilitated the resultant agreement between the two in Doha last year. Pakistan, Qureshi said, had also helped convene peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government in September last year, which have since stalled.

Qureshi said Islamabad was concerned at the violence and the lack of progress in the talks, saying that Pakistan had the most to lose from an unstable Afghanistan as a direct neighbour.

Questioning the pullout of US forces, Qureshi said Pakistan thought the withdrawal would be tied to progress in the peace talks.

Other regional countries, including Afghanistan, have also blamed what they termed a “hasty” and unconditional withdrawal of foreign troops for the success of the Taliban.

Qureshi said there would be a meeting in Doha on Wednesday (11) of the "Troika", a platform to discuss Afghanistan, led by the US, China, Russia.

The meeting is three weeks before the August 31 deadline that Washington set for the official withdrawal of its military forces from Afghanistan.

More For You

british-muslims-iStock

The study noted that this identification was not due to any doctrinal obligation but was influenced by the perception that many Muslims do not feel fully accepted as British. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Majority of British Muslims identify by faith first, study finds

A STUDY by the Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life (IIFL) has found that most British Muslims identify primarily with their religion rather than their nationality.

The research, based on a survey of 815 British Muslim adults by Whitestone Insight, revealed that 71 per cent of respondents identified as Muslim first, while 27 per cent identified as British, English, or Scottish first.

Keep ReadingShow less
Car Tax Changes: EV Owners Now Required to Pay for the First Time

Owners of electric vehicles registered on or after 1 April 2025 will pay £10 for the first year, followed by the standard VED rate of £195 from the second year. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Car tax changes take effect: EV owners to pay for first time

FROM today, 1 April 2025, electric cars, vans, and motorcycles in the UK will be subject to Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) for the first time.

The change, introduced in the 2022 Autumn Statement by former Conservative Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, aims to make motoring taxation fairer.

Keep ReadingShow less
scotland-minimum-wages-iStock

Full-time workers on the National Living Wage will receive an annual pay increase of £1,400 in real terms. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Wage increase takes effect for thousands of workers in Scotland

HUNDREDS of thousands of workers in Scotland will see a pay increase as new National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates take effect from Tuesday.

The changes will benefit approximately 220,000 people, according to STV News.

Keep ReadingShow less
uk-energy-bill-iStock

Water bills, energy prices, and council tax are rising, while the minimum wage has also increased (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

April bill increases put financial strain on single parents

A RANGE of essential household bills are increasing from April, with Citizens Advice warning that single parents will be among the hardest hit.

Water bills, energy prices, and council tax are rising, while the minimum wage has also increased, BBC reported.

Keep ReadingShow less
Netflix drama Adolescence to be screened in UK schools
Stephen Graham and Owen Cooper in 'Adolescence'
Netflix

Netflix drama Adolescence to be screened in UK schools

THE NETFLIX drama Adolescence will be shown in UK secondary schools as part of efforts to address harmful online influences on young boys, officials announced on Monday.

The show has sparked debate over the impact of toxic and misogynistic content on the internet. Prime minister Keir Starmer met the show's creators, charities, and young people at Downing Street, calling the initiative an important step in starting discussions about the content teenagers are exposed to online.

Keep ReadingShow less