Pakistan's provincial govt backs recognition of Taliban rule in Afghanistan

Pakistan's provincial government in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region has extended full support for recognising the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, local media reported on Wednesday.

"We (Pakistan) should recognise the Taliban government and give them full support," Housing Minister Dr Amjad Ali Khan was quoted as saying by Dawn newspaper. The minister also urged the federal government to recognise and support the Taliban government, claiming that the "Afghans have welcomed" the Taliban.

Pakistan, which reportedly aided the Taliban's return to power, is urging the world to engage with the outfit. Meanwhile, experts believe that Pakistan's ride on the Taliban could prove harmful in the long run.

While urging the world to restore humanitarian aid for Afghanistan, Amjad Khan also slammed people in the country who are advocating the idea of "Lar-o-Bar Yaw Afghan (Pakhtuns of low and highlands are one Afghan)."

"Yes, we are Pakhtuns, but we are Pakistanis, while Afghans have their own country," he said. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is one of the four provinces of Pakistan, located in the northwestern region of the country, along the Pakistan border.

"The Taliban gamble of Pakistan can be ruined by Pashtuns owing to the Durand Line Question that is inhibited by the community," said Canadian think-tank International Forum For Rights And Security (IFFRAS).

According to IFFRAS, close to 35 million people from the Pashtun community live in Pakistan and the Durand Line, which divides their "nation", has always been a sore point.

Pashtuns no longer express blind loyalty to Pakistan as they did in the past and there is rising anger among members living in the tribal areas and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the think-tank said.

For the past three years, Pashtuns have been waging a peaceful battle of nerves with the Pakistani state, especially its army. Pashtuns blame the country's army for the brutal destruction of their homes in successive military operations supposedly targeting terrorists hiding along the Durand Line.