Afghanistan cannot be controlled by outside forces: PM Imran Khan.

In an exclusive interview with American media, PM Imran Khan has said that the situation in Afghanistan is worrying, adding that Pakistan wants peace in Afghanistan.

The PM said that the best way forward for peace and stability in Afghanistan is to engage with the Taliban and "incentivize" them on issues such as women rights and inclusive government.

"The Taliban hold all of Afghanistan and if they can sort of now work towards an inclusive government, get all the factions together, Afghanistan could have peace after 40 years. But if it goes wrong and which is what we are really worried about, it could go to chaos. The biggest humanitarian crisis, a huge refugee problem," PM Imran Khan said.

He went on to say that "No puppet government in Afghanistan is supported by the people."

"So rather than sitting here and thinking that we can control them, we should incentivize them. Because Afghanistan, this current government, clearly feels that without international aid and help, they will not be able to stop this crisis. So we should push them in the right direction.", he added.

To critics who say that Taliban will destabilize the country, PM Imran Khan pointed to the withdrawal of the Soviets in 1989, which resulted in a "bloodbath." He said he was fearing a similar bloodbath to happen after the US forces left.

"Our intelligence agencies told us that the Taliban would not be able to take over all of Afghanistan, and if they tried to take Afghanistan militarily, there would be a protracted civil war, which is what we were scared of because we are the ones who would suffer the most," Khan said. Now, he said, the world should "give them time" to form a legitimate government and make good on their promises.

The PM said that it is a mistake to think that someone from outside can give Afghan women their rights, saying that the women in the neighbouring country are strong and the international community should give them time and they will get their rights themselves.

The premier said that the Americans did not understand who the Haqqanis were, adding there was complete ignorance as Haqqani was a Pashtun tribe living in Afghanistan.

Forty years ago, when the Afghan Jihad took place there were five million refugees in Pakistan and amongst them were the Haqqanis who were fighting the Soviets, he observed.

The Haqqani leadership was born in the Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan, he recalled. 'We were supposed to check which were of the people living in...