Pakistan asks coalition not to leave Afghanistan in haste

Islamabad is also concerned that Obama’s plans to send 30,000 more US troops into Afghanistan might see militants flee into Pakistan’s troubled northwest and southern border regions. —AFP/File Photo

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan warned the US-led coalition on Thursday against a hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan, expressing renewed concern about growing instability on its militant-infested border.

“The decision to leave Afghanistan should be taken when it is able to look after itself effectively,” Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Basit told a press briefing.

“Coalition forces should not leave Afghanistan in haste,” Basit said.

Islamabad is also concerned that Obama’s plans to send 30,000 more US troops into Afghanistan might see militants flee into Pakistan’s troubled northwest and southern border regions.

Pakistan saw a flood of Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants enter its lawless borderlands after a US-led invasion ousted the Taliban from Afghanistan in 2001 and security has drastically deteriorated in the last eight years. —AFP