PMC poll: More than 60% think Imran Khan is right about international withdrawal from Afghanistan

According to a Positive Media Communications (PMC) News poll, a little over than 60% of Pakistanis think Prime Minister Imran Khan is right when he says a “hasty international withdrawal” from Afghanistan will be disastrous.

The poll, conducted on September 27, asked the question:

Do you think Imran Khan is right when he says hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan is unwise?

One hundred and twelve votes were polled out of which 63.4% said yes while 36.6% said no.

Do you think Imran Khan is right when he says hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan is unwise?

— _PMC_Official (@PMC_Positive) September 27, 2020

Political solution only way forward for Afghanistan: PM Imran

Earlier, PM Imran Khan had underscored that all Afghan parties must work for reduction in violence leading to ceasefire.

The prime minister was talking to High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR) of Afghanistan Chairman Dr Abdullah Abdullah, who called on him, Prime Minister Office Media Wing in a press release said.

The prime minister conveyed that Pakistan would support whatever the Afghans agreed upon about the future of Afghanistan.

The prime minister reiterated his longstanding position that there was no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan and that a political solution was the only way forward.

He also expressed gratification that the international community had come to recognize this stance and also acknowledged Pakistan’s positive role in facilitation of the Afghan peace process. The US-Taliban Peace Agreement was a major step forward in these endeavours.

Extending a warm welcome, the prime minister conveyed his best wishes for the successful outcome of the Afghan peace process and expressed the hope that Dr Abdullah Abdullah’s visit would help open a new chapter in the bilateral relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

He further reaffirmed Pakistan’s full support for the post-conflict Afghanistan on its path to reconstruction and economic development.

In the bilateral context, prime minister Khan highlighted that Pakistan and Afghanistan had immense trade complementarities and emphasized the need to optimally utilize these capacities for mutually-beneficial trade and transit.

He assured that Pakistan would continue to undertake all efforts to facilitate Afghan transit trade and deepen our bilateral trade and economic ties and people-to-people exchanges with Afghanistan.

The prime minister said he was looking forward to his visit to Afghanistan on the invitation of President Ashraf Ghani.