Pak PM warns of Afghan ‘civil war’

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has warned of the risk of a "civil war" in Afghanistan if the Taliban is unable to form an inclusive government there.

"If they do not have an inclusive government, and gradually it descends into a civil war, which if they do not include all the factions sooner or later [will happen], that too will impact Pakistan," Khan told the BBC network during an interview aired on Tuesday.

Khan said his country was primarily concerned about the possibility of a humanitarian and refugee crisis if a civil war breaks out, as well as the possibility of Afghan soil being used by armed groups that are fighting the Pakistani government.

"It will mean an unstable, a chaotic Afghanistan," he said. "[That is an] ideal place for terrorists, because if there is no control or if there is fighting going on. And that is our worry. So terrorism from Afghan soil, and secondly if there is a humanitarian crisis or a civil war, a refugee issue for us."

The Taliban has previously rejected Khan's calls for changes to the current interim Afghan government, with Mohammad Mobeen, a Taliban leader, saying the group does not "give anyone the right to call for an inclusive government".

"We have got freedom. Like Pakistan, we reserve the right to have our own system," Mobeen told Afghanistan's Ariana TV, adding the current system was "inclusive". The Taliban's deputy information minister Zabihullah Mujahid said the group would address international human rights concerns only after formal recognition by those countries.