US Secretary Of State Antony Blinken Says Pakistan Involved In Harbouring Taliban

Blinken told House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee that while Pakistan was involved in counterterrorism with the US, the country was at the same time 'harboring members of the Taliban'.

The iconic Taliban flag is painted on a wall outside the American embassy compound in Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

New Delhi: The United States has said that it will reassess its relationship with Pakistan in the coming weeks referring to the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.

On Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Pakistan has a "multiplicity of interests" that are in conflict with the US in a report by Reuters.

Blinken told the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee during the first public hearing in Congress about Afghanistan, that while Pakistan was involved in counterterrorism with the US, the country was at the same time 'harboring members of the Taliban'.

"This is one of the things we're going to be looking at in the days, and weeks ahead - the role that Pakistan has played over the last 20 years but also the role we would want to see it play in the coming years and what it will take for it to do that," said Blinken in the report. He also added that the US will formulate what role they will play in Afghanistan.

Pakistan has been accessed of aiding the Taliban while being an ally to the United States. Even during the earlier Taliban regime from 1996-2001, Pakistan had recognized the government.

The country is also known to have provided a safe space for Taliban members After the withdrawal of the US troops from Afghanistan in August and take over by the Taliban, Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan responded by saying that the "Afghans have broken the shackles of slavery" in the country.