Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan Tuesday berated the coalition government for issuing "irresponsible statements" against the Taliban-led Afghan administration and stressed cooperation with the neighbouring nation.
Islamabad has repeatedly raised concerns over Kabul's harbouring of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants and not implementing its promise of ensuring that its soil is not used for terrorism.
TTP has ended the ceasefire with Pakistan and increased terror activities across the country, leaving several people dead and scores injured, despite the government's "zero-tolerance" policy.
"Ministers are issuing irresponsible statements that they are planning to attack Afghanistan; if the Afghan government stops cooperation with [Pakistan], then we will have a never-ending war on our hands," Khan told a seminar, which he addressed via video link from Lahore.
Khan, who was ousted as the prime minister in April, had advocated for the world to engage with the Taliban administration and not isolate them or it would lead to not only regional, but global consequences.
The PTI chief said the coalition government was not focusing on talks with its Afghan counterpart and that Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari's first foreign trip should have been to the war-torn neighbouring country.
The former prime minister said military operations "never" bear fruit and they are part of peace agreements, as he reiterated that the government should engage with the Taliban to avoid terror activities on Pakistani soil.
"We had a golden opportunity when America left Afghanistan; we tried to better our ties with the Ashraf Ghani government as best as we could and decided not to intervene in Afghan affairs," he said.
But once the Taliban took over, Khan also kept engaging with them, and he said that "Pakistan helped evacuate foreigners from Afghanistan".
