‘Pakistan will not host any US bases,’ says Imran Khan

What happened : Prime Minister, Imran Khan, stated Pakistan’s priorities in Afghanistan in Washington Post’s op-ed. He wrote that Pakistan is willing to play a diplomatic role to ensure peace in Afghanistan, yet will not host US bases to avoid risking further destruction. Backstory: Amid the withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan, US has been talking to other countries to ensure that it still keeps an eye on the region. However, Pakistan has been quite clear in stating that it will not give its bases to US as Islamabad commits to ensure Afghan peace. Furthermore, Imran Khan highlighted that Pakistan has already suffered gravely by involving itself in Afghanistan and giving bases to US will bring more destruction to the country. Furthermore, in his interview on ‘Axios on HBO’ Prime Minister stated, “…there is no way we are going to allow any bases, any sort of action from Pakistani territory into Afghanistan. Absolutely not .”

“If Pakistan were to agree to host US bases, from which to bomb Afghanistan, and an Afghan civil war ensued, Pakistan would be targeted for revenge by terrorists again. We simply cannot afford this. We have already paid too heavy a price,” he specified. Prime Minister recalled his opposition to Pakistan joining the Afghan war, recalling the repercussions Pakistan faced by being “targeted as a collaborator, leading to terrorism against our country from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and other groups”. He further reiterated that he has no favorites in Afghanistan thus, he stresses upon a diplomatic settlement of the conflict. Furthermore, he pressed on the inclusion of the Afghan Taliban in any form of settlement if peace is to be established in Afghanistan. He concluded, “Further military action is futile. If we share this responsibility, Afghanistan, once synonymous with the ‘Great Game’ and regional rivalries, could instead emerge as a model of regional cooperation.” Click here to see more on ProperGaanda.