PTI president Advocate Gohar Ali Khan on Wednesday said the party would support Pakistan if hostilities with Afghanistan resume.
Pakistan and Afghanistan have seen their ties worsen in recent weeks, leading to border skirmishes, counter-statements and accusations.
Hostilities began earlier this month when an attack was launched against Pakistan from Afghanistan on the night of October 11. The attack followed an allegation by the Afghan Taliban of Pakistani airstrikes against Afghanistan, an allegation that Islamabad has neither confirmed nor denied.
Responding to a question about Geographic news Speaking on ‘Capital Talk’, Gohar said the PTI would support Pakistan in case hostilities with Afghanistan broke out once again, as happened during Islamabad’s brief war with India in May.
“We will support Pakistan like we did during the war with India, Afghanistan will be no different,” he said. “But I will say that Pakistan has to live with its neighbors and it is best for it to live in peace.”
The PTI president cited a saying in relation to the Afghan situation: “Whoever has the most at stake must exhaust all avenues.”
“We have a lot at stake; if Afghanistan maintains a dialogue, we must try other avenues until we reach a consensus,” he said. “As far as the situation in Afghanistan is concerned, it is serious, because the Taliban does not completely control the country.”
“If the Afghan Taliban attacked Pakistan, obviously the response would be like that of India, but that does not mean that talks will stop during the war. Dialogue should happen by all means, but right now, especially, Pakistan’s friendly nations should try to use their influence and talk to the Taliban.”
The PTI chairman also pointed out that Pakistan has the right to defend itself as per the UN Charter, but “Afghanistan has the same right.”
“As neighbors, we must understand each other,” he said.
For its part, Islamabad has long demanded that the Taliban prevent terrorist groups from using its soil against Pakistan. However, they deny the accusation of allowing terrorists to operate from Afghan soil.
Meanwhile, Pakistan continues to grapple with the issue of terrorism and has suffered multiple casualties among security forces in intelligence-based operations.
After the initial skirmish on October 11, many others occurred along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Meanwhile, the Islamabad attacks also targeted the camps of the Gul Bahadur group in Afghanistan.
