Taliban scorns Imran Khan's call for inclusive Afghanistan govt; "Pakistan has no right'

In another shocker to Prime Minister Imran Khan, the Taliban on Monday said that Pakistan or any other country has no right to ask the insurgent group to establish an ‘inclusive’ government in Afghanistan. The statement of the Taliban comes after Imran Khan held a meeting with leaders of 'Afghanistan's neighbours'- the Tajiks, Hazaras & Uzbeks and insisted that the insurgent group include them all to form an 'inclusive, broad-based government', and even initiated a dialogue for the same. 

'Like Pakistan, we reserve the right to have our own system'

Miffed by Pakistan's statement, Taliban leader Mohammad Mobeen said that “We don’t give anyone the right to call for an inclusive government.” Speaking on Ariana TV, asked: “Does the inclusive government mean that neighbours have their representatives and spies in the system?” The current government is inclusive, he insisted. “We have got freedom. Like Pakistan, we reserve the right to have our own system,” he added. 

This was in reaction to a tweet put up by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in which he had stated that he had held meetings in Dushanbe with leaders of Afghanistan's neighbours & especially a lengthy discussion with Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon. "I have initiated a dialogue with the Taliban for an inclusive Afghan govt to include Tajiks, Hazaras & Uzbeks," he had said in the tweet that came after his two-day visit to Tajikistan, where he arrived to attend the 20th Shanghai Cooperation Organization Council of Heads of State (SCO-CHS) in Dushanbe. 

Taliban's 'inclusive government'

After promising to form an inclusive government, the Taliban on September 7 announced an all-male interim government for Afghanistan stacked with veterans of their hard-line rule from the 1990s and the 20-year battle against the U.S.-led coalition. At the top position of that of the Prime Minister stands Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, the chief of the Taliban's Rehbari Shura. Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund has two deputies in Mullah Baradar and Mawlavi Hanafi. The post of Interior Minister is taken by Sirajuddin Haqqani, who is the head of the feared Haqqani network that is blamed for many deadly attacks and kidnappings. He is in the FBI’s most-wanted list with a $5 million bounty on his head.