On Wednesday, Pakistan opened the Spin Boldak crossing with Afghanistan, despite the border outpost still being controlled by the Taliban*. According to Reuters, over 100 trucks carrying supplies have already crossed over from Pakistan into Afghanistan. Islamabad has often been accused of backing the Taliban against the Afghan government.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday said that the US “really messed it up” in Afghanistan by trying to find a “military solution” to the conflict, as he reckoned that such a prospect had never existed in the first place.
PM Khan bemoaned the fact that by the time the US appeared ready for a political resolution in the Central Asian nation, it had already lost its “bargaining power” as the number of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) troops had already been reduced to around 10,000.
Khan told the US news channel that since the “military solution” to the conflict had failed, an inclusive government involving a power-sharing arrangement with Kabul was the “best outcome” going forward.
“…there's nothing more we can do, except push them as much as we can for a political settlement. That's all,” he reckoned.
The Pakistani PM also fended off allegations that Pakistan is providing military, logistical and financial support to the Taliban insurgents in fighting the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), as alleged by President Ashraf Ghani's administration.
“Intelligence estimates indicate the…