NEW DELHI: Afgha­nistan would become a “pariah state” if the Taliban take control by force, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday, as a top-level delegation from the insurgent group visited China to assure officials of their international obligations.

“An Afghanistan that does not respect the rights of its people, an Afgh­anistan that commits atro­cities against its own people would become a par­iah state,” Blinken told reporters in India.

Blinken warned the Taliban they would have to change if they wanted global acceptance.

“The Taliban says that it seeks international recognition, that it wants international support for Afghanistan. Presumably it wants its leaders to be able to travel freely in the world, sanctions lifted, etc,” he said.

“The taking over of the country by force and abusing the rights of its people is not the path to achieve those objectives.”

Published in Dawn, July 29th , 2021