Abandoning the Taliban will have “dangerous consequences,” Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has warned, adding no one will be safe if the international community isolates the Taliban, the new rulers of Afghanistan.

“Such a move would have dangerous consequences and no one would be spared,” Qureshi was quoted as saying Dawn on Wednesday after a meeting with Dutch Foreign Minister Sigrid Kaag in Islamabad. 

Pakistan has been pushing key regional countries and other countries to recognize the Taliban, the Sunni Islamist group, which seized power in Afghanistan on 15 August, toppling the US-backed Afghan government. Earlier, Qureshi undertook a tour of regional countries to try to persuade them in recognizing the government.  

Significantly, China, Pakistan’s main patron, too has voiced a similar opinion earlier this week. In a phone call to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the international community must “guide” the Taliban. 

Western countries have already made it clear that they would only recognize an inclusive dispensation representing all people of Afghanistan. Several of these countries have already stopped their developmental assistance to the country after the Taliban seized power. The country’s reserves in foreign banks in the US and other countries have already been blocked. 

Meanwhile, the Taliban is expected to announce their government soon. 

Qureshi, however, emphasized that the world needed to be conscious of the humanitarian requirements of Afghanistan and strive to prevent an economic collapse there. As the dollar flow stopped, inflation has been rising steadily and the prices of essentials and food already skyrocketed. 

Dominic Raab, British foreign secretary, is scheduled to arrive in Pakistan on Thursday for a two-day visit to Pakistan and will hold discussions on the situation in Afghanistan and the safe passage of British nationals from Afghanistan. 

(SAM)