The United States has said it will withdraw all its troops out of Afghanistan on Sept. 11 following a two-decade presence. More than 20 allied countries intend to follow suit.

“There’s a great deal of fear right now in Pakistan and I guarantee you that we are trying our level best that there’s some kind of political settlement prior to the Americans depart,” Khan told daily Reuters on Friday at his official residence in Islamabad.

Founded in Afghanistan has risen sharply since the troop withdrawal announcement, with the insurgent Taliban resisting pressure from Washington and its allies to agree with a political perception resulting in a peace deal.

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han said Pakistan would suffer the most, after Afghanistan itself, if there was civil war and a refugee crisis.

“And then there would be pressure on us to jump in and become a part of it,” Khan said.

He said his government had changed Pakistan’s decades-long policy of pushing for “strategic depth” in Afghanistan to ensure that there was a friendly government there.

“Any Afghan government chosen by the people is who Pakistan should deal with,” Khan said, adding that Pakistan “should not try to do any manipulation in Afghanistan”.

Pakistan has long been accused of harbouring leaders and fighters of the Taliban, whom Islamabad helped to power in 1996, even as the insurgent group fought U.S.-led foreign troops.