Washington: US Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West has said that we do not need Pakistan or any other country to facilitate communication with the Afghan Taliban.
In an interview with Voice of America Urdu, Thomas West rejected the need for any third party to negotiate with the Taliban government and said I think that the dialogue needs to be direct and I myself am in regular contact with the Taliban government.
He said this in response to a question in which he was asked whether Pakistan can facilitate the US to negotiate or negotiate with the Taliban government.
“To be honest, I don’t think we need a third country to facilitate communication with the Taliban,” West added. I and my other colleagues in the US government are working on it.
In response to another question, Thomas West also rejected the suggestion that the US needs Pakistan’s airspace for operational access to Afghanistan.
The American special representative further said that after withdrawing from Afghanistan in August last year, we have reorganized our capabilities, which is also reflected in the death of Ayman al-Zuhari in an American drone attack.
When asked why the US did not deny Pakistan’s role in the drone attack on Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul, West Thomas said only that giving shelter to Ayman al-Zawahiri was a clear violation of the Doha agreement by the Taliban.
West Thomas added that despite the complete military withdrawal from Afghanistan, we have ensured in the region that terrorists can never again pose a threat to the United States or our allies.
Regarding diplomatic relations with the Taliban, the US special representative said that there is a need to continue diplomacy with the Taliban government to ensure that it is committed to suppressing terrorism and providing rights to all Afghans. Keep commitments and for this even countries that share borders, languages, cultures, and traditions can do this in a complementary manner.
