Struck an understanding with US, will bring Taliban for talks: Imran Khan

Pakistan has struck an understanding with the US after a long time and the relationship has been reset, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Tuesday, following his meeting with President Donald Trump.

Khan, who is on a three-day official visit to the US, met Trump at his Oval Office on Monday.

“We wanted to actually reset our relationship based on understanding that we are all on the same page. We want peace in Afghanistan. Pakistan will do everything to help the Taliban come on the dialogue table so that there is peace. I think we struck that understanding today,” Khan told Fox News, the favourite TV channel of Trump.

Khan spent more than two hours in the White House interacting with Trump.

“I came out feeling that we really are now allies and both of us want peace in Afghanistan and Pakistan will do everything possible to ensure that this peace process goes forward. I found President Trump refreshing in the sense that completely someone is a straight forward man, no mixing, no juggling with words, just came out straight with things,” he said in response to a question.

Also read: Trump gets it Left, Right and Centre over Kashmir comment

Observing that the last thing, Afghanistan needs, is more violence and it needs peace, Khan said the Taliban should become a part of the political process.

“So then you would have a government which will represent the people of Afghanistan,” he said, adding that the negotiations with the Taliban have been the most productive so far.

Responding to a question, Khan said that the Taliban is a localised movement and not an international terrorist movement. “Ideally, if there is a stable government in Afghanistan, which is a broad-based political government after the elections, that would be the best guarantee that they would not be any groups that would threaten the United States or the western countries.”

“The danger is for Afghanistan and Pakistan is that if we do not have some sort of a peace settlement in Afghanistan, the dangerous ISIS is more of a danger, not just to us, to Pakistan and Afghanistan, but actually to other countries too,” the Pakistan prime minister added.