Pakistan’s top diplomat admitted the country supports some members of the Afghan Taliban and that it gives them shelter, NBC News reported.
Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan’s Advisor to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affaris, said Tuesday that Pakistan had “some influence” in convincing the militant group to the negotiating table “because their leadership is in Pakistan.”
He said: "I think people who have dealt with this issue recognize that Taliban in the best of times … did not listen to Pakistan always…and now we have some influence on them because their leadership is in Pakistan and they get some medical facilities, their families are here. So we can use those levers to pressurize them to say 'come to the table.'"
A spokesman for Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Thursday he would not comment on Aziz’s statement.
