Pak says it has limited influence on taliban

Pakistan has sought to give a new dimension to its relationship with Afghanistan's Taliban by saying that Islamabad's failure to dissuade the militia from destroying Bamian Buddha statues showed its limited influence on them.

In an interview to Russian daily 'Vremya Novostyei', the Pakistan ambassador to Russia, Iftikhar Murshed, also described the Taliban as moderate.

The present day taliban are not the one in 1995, they are much moderate, Murshed said.

“Talk to the taliban about terrorism, they would say that they themselves are its victims. They would also tell you that their interests are limited within the country and do not want to invade Pakistan, Uzbekistan or China,” he said.

Bureau Report