Pakistan only seen as useful by US to clean up 'mess' in Afghanistan: PM Imran Khan

• PM Imran Khan interacts with foreign journalists in Islamabad.
• Says Pakistan only useful for US in the context of the "mess" being left behind in Afghanistan.
• "It's his business. It's not like I am waiting for any phone call," PM says on US President Joe Biden not calling him.
• US has decided that India is their strategic partner now, which is why there’s a different way of treating Pakistan now, PM adds.

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said the United States only sees Pakistan useful in the context of the "mess" it is leaving behind in Afghanistan after 20 years of fighting.

Washington has been pressing Pakistan to use what they believe is Islamabad's influence over the Taliban to broker an elusive peace deal as negotiations between the group and the Afghan government have yet to see any fruitful gains, and violence in Afghanistan has escalated sharply.

"Pakistan is considered only to be useful in the context of somehow settling this mess which has been left behind after 20 years of trying to find a military solution when there was not one," he said.

The prime minister also turned down speculation of him waiting for US President Joe Biden's phone call — who has not had any contact with the premier since he took charge in January this year.

"I keep hearing that President Biden hasn't called me. It's his business. It's not like I am waiting for any phone call," he said while responding to a question during a session with foreign journalists in Islamabad.

The premier's remarks follow National Security Adviser (NSA) Moeed Yusuf saying that Washington's lack of initiative to interact with Islamabad was beyond his understanding.

“The president of the United States hasn’t spoken to the prime minister of such an important country who the US itself says is make-or-break in some cases, in some ways, in Afghanistan — we struggle to understand the signal, right?” Yusuf had told the Financial Times in an interview.

Pakistan not taking sides

The United States will pull out its military by August 31, 20 years after toppling the Taliban government in 2001. But, as the United States leaves, the Taliban today controls more territory than at any point since then.

PM Imran Khan clarified Islamabad was not taking sides in Afghanistan.

"I think that the Americans have decided that India is their strategic partner now, and I think that’s why there’s a different way of treating Pakistan now," Khan said.

A political settlement in Afghanistan was looking difficult under current conditions, PM Imran Khan added.

Taliban condition

He said he tried to persuade Taliban leaders when they were visiting Pakistan to reach a settlement.

"The condition is that as long as Ashraf Ghani is there, we (Taliban) are not going to talk to the Afghan government," PM Imran Khan said, quoting the Taliban leaders as telling him.

Peace talks between the Taliban, who view Ghani and his government as US puppets, and a team of Kabul-nominated Afghan negotiators started last September but have made no substantive progress.

Representatives of a number of countries, including the United States, are currently in the Qatari capital of Doha talking to both sides in a last-ditch push for a ceasefire.

US forces have continued to use air strikes to support Afghan forces against Taliban advances, but it remains unclear if such support will continue after August 31.

PM Imran Khan said Pakistan had "made it very clear" that it does not want any American military bases in Pakistan after US forces exit Afghanistan.