KABUL - The return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan would not be in the best interests of Pakistan, Pakistani foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar said in an Al Jazeera interview.
But she added that it is up to Afghanistan to decide on the nature of its own government.

"We cannot dictate or inform them that what should be their interests," she said.

Ms Khar said that events in Afghanistan have a direct impact on the situation in Pakistan - and Kabul is just as important to her as Washington DC. She pointed out that, on a daily basis, more than 53,000 people cross the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan and said that any kind of conflict in Afghanistan will directly influence the economic, social and military situation in Pakistan.

"Kabul is an important capital for Islamabad, because the two countries have shared interests and fates," Ms. Khar explained. She added that Pakistan is always keen to have friendly and close relations with countries in the region - particularly Afghanistan, Iran and Russia.

Meanwhile, an Afghan military expert said it is Pakistan's intelligence agency that will decide Afghanistan's system of government.
"Hina's statements were irresponsible. It is Pakistan's intelligence that will decide what kind of government Afghanistan will have," military expert General Abdul Wahed Taqat told TOLOnews in response to the interview.

Ms. Khar reiterated Pakistan's opposition to US drone strikes in the tribal regions, saying that negotiations are taking place to stop such attacks. She said the drone strikes benefit neither the US nor Pakistan.
Pakistan has been accused repeatedly of supporting Afghan and Pakistani insurgents who attacked Afghan and foreign bases in Afghanistan. (Tolo News)