The NSA and Faiz Hameed, head of Pakistan’s spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), had embarked on a visit to the US for discussions over Afghanistan and bilateral issues.

While Hameed has left Washington, Yusuf is still in the US. When asked about Pakistan’s relations and influence over the Taliban, Yusuf said that they have minimum leverage.

Poll

Who will win the Punjab Elections?

BJP 32.86%

AAP 41.43%

INC 25.71%

Submit

View All In Poll

He said that if Pakistan had influence over the group they would have prevented them from destroying the Buddha idols in Bamyan province in the 1990s. 

Earlier, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had said the country is already hosting nearly three million Afghan refugees and it does not have the capacity to accept more. 

Reports said Tajikistan, a northern neighbour of Afghanistan, has announced to accept up to 100,000 Afghan refugees but also acknowledged to remain cautious while allowing the people in and will not give refuge to those who have worked with the US.

Also read: Pak militant is Jaish chief’s kin, Pulwama conspirator

Rockets hit Kandahar airport, flights suspended

Flights in Afghanistan’s Kandahar airport were suspended on Sunday after rockets struck the nation’s second main international airport, a local official confirmed. “The initial information found Taliban militants fired three rockets at the Kandahar International Airport and two of them struck the runway late Saturday night,” the official told Xinhua news agency. “Local authorities were inspecting and trying to repair and reopen the runway as soon as possible,” the official said, adding that there were no casualties.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever