and the reflect what's happening today. okay. you know, tango has to keep evolving just like everything else. the pandemic may have muffled the music, but the 2 by 4 beat of the tango goes on. bringing the heart of what osiris alive again. ah, when there was the error, what a cyrus ah so quick look at main stories. now a vote counting has started in germany's general election ballot to decide anglo merkel successor marking the end of an era for german politics. exit polls show the 2 main policies. the f b, d and the c d u s. c u alliance, running neck and neck. lengthy coalition talks are expected to happen before government can be formed. with the social democrats candidate for chancellor shalt says, voters have given his party the monday to push ahead with its goals,

cash stuff that we can pay for more respect. and this is cited for industrial modernization to go on in our country. and for manmade climate change to be slowed down to important issues in our country that targets for which we are working. and for this to be possible for the full cost and pause to be so favorable, the exit polls are showing great support for the s p d from the citizens. that is managed to strive and implement everything we have suggested and to put our political strength into it of part in while the s t use candidate says he is not satisfied with the results army lasha has now to do everything possible to build a conservative government have i comes is for by the election campaign is finishes and this is now about one thing. a stable coalition for a strong and modern germany towards the chancellor will be the one to bring opposite together, develop a successful program for the coming 4 years will be there will be many intensive

talks and discussions and the work being done with competitors in the next few days because some of it they are, the chancellor will have to develop a project that goes beyond the coming weeks and i am prepared for that task yet. now thousands of people have been protesting against the confusion president in the capital. supporters of kaiser were also out enforced on the streets of tennis. on wednesday, he announced she would rule by decree and ignore parts of the constitution. the funeral has taken place. one of 5 palestinians killed by israeli forces bodies or for others, have been withheld, buys re authorities troops on several villages. and janine and ramallah, early in the morning surrounding houses, and opening fire, taught to al jazeera is next with the pockets, donnie foreign minister sharma would cry. she me

the i've gotta stop is a landlocked nation, surrounded by 6 countries. it's longest border is shared with pakistan. so the recent taliban takeover and cobble presents a new geo political challenge was lam about and the region at large. on august, the 15th taliban fighters arrived at the gates of the african capital after a rapid advance across the country, american troops were pulling out after 20 years, and the democratically elected president, ashura gunny, had fled the country, the international community food, a possible power vacuum enough to stop what he could bring, the taliban marched into cobble 20 years after being forced out. as the news was

breaking thousands of afghans rushed to cobbles airport, hoping to leave the country at any cost. thousands headed to border crossings in the following days, while regional leaders worried about a possible flow of refugees. the un estimates up to half a 1000000 afghans could flee the country by the end of the year. that's on top of the 2200000 who've already been forced into neighboring countries because of decades of conflict. but for the region, this is not only a humanitarian crisis. in addition to the health risk brought about by coven 19. they're also major security concerns. pakistan host the highest number of african refugees, nearly 1500000. so where does the pakistan government stand on the taliban takeover as world leaders gathered in new york for the 76 un general assembly afghanistan dominated the agenda. and that's where we caught up with the pakistani foreign

minister sharma, mood, correct? she talks to al jazeera ah. chamomile, correct. she foreign minister of pakistan. thank you for talking to our just now much of our time together. now we're going to be talking about africa stuff, your closest neighbor, because the world has been watching the taliban takeover. let me start by asking you about this moment because in some ways we see the conflict ending the bombing in the fighting ending. but on the other hand, you have people, particularly in cobble, very wary, very worried, very scared about the taliban, and many wanting to flee the country. so do you see this moment is a positive or negative one? there is uncertainty, but i think the anxiety has gone down from where it was on the 15th of august for a number of reasons. one that has been no bloodshed after the takeover to the

chances of a civil war and immediate civil war have been averted. 3, you know, after the announcement of a general amnesty and of commitment, there'll be no revenge. there is more commerce. so i don't think people are that restless at the moment, but yes, things remain uncertain. and if not addressed, some of the challenges not addressed immediately. then they contain take a different turn. i'd like to ask you more about the current situation in a moment, but let me just go back and examine what went wrong in afghanistan. let me start at the beginning. do you think the u. s. should have intervened in 2001 perhaps they had no choice then. you know, the, the compulsion of public opinion after 911 was such a big perhaps had no choice. some say the u. s. would be better at once. it had

intervened in 2001 then to have stepped out, put in the un peacekeeping force with, with islamic countries taking part. and certainly it would have been good if they hadn't diverted their attention to iraq. do agree with that. those debates can go on, but they should have, in my view, focused on what they had gone in full. and the immediate focus that they had gone in was to distribute either and punish people who were responsible for 911. once had done that, then they should have in my view book to words, he reconciliation and peace, reconstruction effort and sort of, you know, sort of, you know, the, the destroyed infrastructure would have been rebuilt so that the country could have

gone towards. busy in normal life, if you look at the money that was spent, the bulk, the money that was spent was on security and less on development. and what you saw, you know, when taliban moved in the government, if i show any, had lost credibility at support. because people felt that life under them had bought improved, they were not secure. they were squabbling. there was in fighting and they were not certain about their future. but that sometimes there's another factor. and that's the fact that taliban had a safe haven in your country. let me just quote, umbrella sally, the former vice president of afghanistan. we don't know where he is now. he fled to pounds chair and he's disappeared. but he says it's very clear the taliban would never under pressure. they use pakistan as their support based not centuries. the

whole of pakistan was at the service of the taliban. you could expect that from across highly, you know, he speaks somebody else's language. you know, he is briefed from, you know, by one of our neighbors and, you know, india, you're claiming, obviously, and you know, he's has been on their, on their payroll for a while now. but what pakistan did buckets on cleanser to daria's bucket on undertook number of obligations to clean up. and we did successfully at a cost the safe havens the fighters were across, you know, they, they, they, they, they were in a fine, it's fun. and we didn't fight safe havens that were being used against back us thought ah, it is what cleansed there was 7. it's there was monitoring going on whenever would

accuse of savings. we sit. we will take you into the tribal region and come and see for yourself foreign minister if i can turn to the current situation. the banking system in afghanistan is banning functioning salaries are not being paid on this program a week ago. the un secretary general antonio good terrace, said his biggest fear was a total economic collapse. do you share that? worry because i do. what would it mean for afghanistan and the region your country to will collapse could lead to exodus a huge influx of refugees. moving in all directions towards baka saw to was it was thought it was thought it could be stabilized in dire region and we are

concerned about that. the collapse could give space those people that we want defeated the terrace that we have. it all worked so hard to, to, to sort of eradicate collapse will have serious consequences not just for baka song, but for the dia, region. and then the consequences can even spell out of the region. you mention what you call terrorists. there were in africa jails, not just taliban. there were members of eyesore that were members of the pakistani tongue about how worried are you about some of those people who got fried in those 1st days. as the taliban were taking control of the country road people who did the people who are in jails like people who are linked to t t p. if they are free and sort of hopping around it,

concerns me in terms of the cannot make situation. what about afghanistan, se, assets, my understanding is there's about $10000000000.00, which currently is locked away? the taliban con, get to shoot that money be unlocked. now given the problems this, the very dar economic problems that you've just talked about. and the secretary general's been talking well upon this needs a economic injection. and that money could come in handy if available. so what would your advice be to the international community and those that are holding that money? i'm sure some of it be on freeze. all of it, i mean, i would say unfreeze it, make it available off on people. you know, there's a humanitarian crisis in the making use at money to address that crisis. but some countries, and i'm sure when you've been here at the you, in general assembly been speaking to other foreign ministers from some western countries. a wary about giving that amount of money potentially to the taliban.

they can be, they can be ways and means devised to ensure that the money gets to the needy and it's not misused. how do you make a mechanism that does that, whether you and can play a role, let me ask you about the taliban. what they've done so far they came in promising an inclusive government. they were talking to figures like the former president have a car side for chief executive, dr. abdullah. and yet they came out with a cabinet that was all taliban. what happened to those talks? it seems that they are not on aware of including other ethnic groups, but to build a consensus, it takes time, it takes time and the initial true and get them announcement was fairly, you know, boston but then the additions that they've made later on junior ministers.

but that's inclusion, you know, and that level can go up and they can be more intuitive and that shows that they have accepted medically the idea of inclusivity by having targets in, by having was picks and having has autism. very, very small number. i'm limited to come back to the beginning. it's beginning will come back in the women because that's a very important point. but in politics, you know, no one ever wants to given anything up in the telephone right now. seemed to pretty much have absolute control. why would they want to give that up for, for stability of their country for the conciliation within a fund stop. what role did pakistan have in the formation of the cabinet? was it just a coincidence in the hours beforehand? the head of your military intelligence, the i saw general fires. hamid was in couple meeting the taliban or did he helped shake that initial cabinet. they are very independent minded people. they take their own decisions and v as

a policy have decided not to interfere in their internal matters. we will help when asked to help. and our objective be will help to achieve our objectives, what our objectives object is, are piece instability. so whatever we can do to achieve peace instability be was do we have no business interfering in their internal affairs? but we had a border and we have concerns. there's trade that goes on to pockets on the growing footprint of either another data organizations is of concern. and if jan fez was in cobbled address, those concerns, it was but natural. so it was just a coincidence. he happened to be there in the hours before the cabinet before because many people thought he was that trying to negotiate. i don't know whether he was trying to negotiate for figures that focused on favored or whether he was

trying to negotiate for a more inclusive government. but certainly the speculation you say doctor on pocket has been advocating for a more conclusive approach in terms of that taliban cabinet. it all taliban. some observers at the taliban say it's all only old taliban. it's hard line taliban . the ones in the key positions are the ones that were fighting rather than the ones that negotiate negotiating. and how, for example, will a brother who was the main negotiator, has ended up as the deputy prime minister. yet he was the most prominent figure in the negotiations. do you see this is a hard line telephone cabinet. it's a, it's, it's a compromise in politics to make compromises. you have to accommodate all. busy points of view and both sides have been dicking in, in terms of the taliban. now as you know, they've been all sorts of reports. we haven't been able to confirm them, so i'd like your view on it. of rouse division in the tell about even angry arouse

with the threat of violence. let me quote you something that was set by the un secretary general recently at the beginning of the p 5 meeting, the permanent members of the security council. he said afghanistan is unpredictable . we see a struggle for power within the taliban leadership. what's pakistan assessment? there's a struggle for par if he democracy. there's a struggle for power in every society and of hands are no different of those cabinet members. there are 33 main members of the cabinet. many are on the un sanctions list. what should the un in your view do about that? the new includes the prime minister to deputy prime ministers, the foreign minister should those sanctions now be lifted at this stage. so that you can engage better with the taliban in the talks that they were having with the us, which led to

a peace agreement. but the us and then commenced in south honda goes haitians. ah, one here was that there was talk of the listing people who are in the actions list. now, to what extent that commitment made you know, more le brother and i was elementary arts would know better. the other thing that we noticed about the cabinet is that there are no women in the cabinet like now. women are not really being allowed to go around about the normal business, the nose, and go to the jobs. we've seen that boys are going back to school girls and not. no, no, i disagree. my information is that girls are going to school. girls are going to college, they have not been restricted, but yes, they can be accommodated in the cabinet and who

knows tomorrow if you need and have some inclusion, that might be a good idea. certainly on getting different information view of speaking to people in composition, say that most women finding their lives very restricted. they're not allowed to go out without male companions. and most go schools are not, are not, are not put. i thought they would then not open because of different reasons. you can't paid salaries to teachers, you know, the schools need teachers. if you don't have teachers, how do you function schools that are other problem? it's not just a ideological reason, you know, they have set so that they will not prohibit goes from going to school and i hope they live up to it. well yeah, i'd like your view on that because pakistan is a country where women can go about that normal business. you had a had a woman prime minister and i know you served for

a time. what do you think about restrictions that the taliban are placing on on women and women employment? i heard and correct me if i'm wrong that they ask people who are in service to come back and work they did initially. but yes, but my understanding is that many women are not being allowed to return to the actual jobs that they said that initial statement. but women not being invited back to that to, to employment. i have not heard of any restriction above sea, but perhaps the passage of time, you know, they would sort of gain confidence and you have to understand that is a trust deficit at it takes time to bridge that trust deficit in terms of park is stone. you have that very long border with afghanistan. you're one of the neighbors,

but you're the one that has had more refugees than any. you got 2600 kilometers border. it's currently close to most afghans. why is that? the board is open. it's not closed, it's not close. only if you have the right paperwork. can you cross? most people commission is the question is would you allow people in to your country without a passport, without documentation, without visas to still be short? they are there certain norms that you have to for a certain norms all over the world. but as you know, that african pakistan board has been a pretty porous border for decades. and they're a family exactly either side of it when the border was port us. we paid a price. and so, you know, we were accused that people cross from this side, you know, and create trouble over there. and we eventually fence the border. and now we have

fenced the border for better management and regulation. one figure that you know, well, i know the former pockets on a basset a to the u. s. has st. connie warned, even before the telephone take over, this was be a pyrrhic victory for pakistan. he said that would be a violent blow back with the pockets tony taliban attacking targets inside pakistan . how concerned are you about that coming to pass? i think the thought of bon had a beta, claire. they have made a commitment that they would not allow their soil to be used against any one. and that includes pakistan for terrorist purposes. and i hope they live up to that promise we have though, a huge amount of henry in afghanistan, some of the most sophisticated weaponry which was either left behind by the

americans or was in the hands of the african army. and it is now there in afghanistan. i'll give you an example. it's, it's never good making comparisons with different countries, but just look what happened in libya after the fall of gadhafi. and the way that the stabilized this a hail region do you have worries about all that weaponry flooding the, the, the area if it gets into the wrong hands, yes, it will concern me. obviously it'll concern me. it will effect the loan on as a tuition in my country. yes. that is why we are urging the international community to engage with the new reality so that kings do not fall apart so that there is semblance of order. one worrying report is about the taliban justice bullet to robbie,

who was the former head of the religious place of the taliban before apparently now is in charge of the prisons and a recent interview. his signal. they can go back to public executions and amputations for crimes. what do you make of that? i am not aware of that. i am not aware of that. that is not the sort of. i've gone to stone, you'd like as a neighbor, though, i'm not at all, not at all in terms of the security situation in the side, pakistan, you had that bloody campaign of terrorist attacks and 2072014. how is the security situation right now? and i'm asking, in part, because as you know, it seems a bit flipping to bring up cricket. now, after all these heavy subjects we've talked about, but you know, both new zealand and england have cancelled their plans to play in pakistan because of the security situation and threats. but they haven't disclose what those threats

are. i wish they did when we don't about it being gate for them. we assured them of security and protection and to, you know, to reduce settings id and to make them feel more protected. we also suggested that we will have these stadiums empty. right. but let the game gone, but they pulled back. it was disappointing. what effect do you think what's happened in afghanistan could have on the regional dynamics? because yours is a difficult region and your relationship, particularly with india, is difficult to get very strained relationship, particularly concerning kashmir. well, i hope india stops playing the role of a spoiler. india has been playing the role of a spoiler in on a song. and they have not been helpful in the peace process. in fact, the were obstructionists and the process. and

if they had not concluded with the government and blocked the negotiation process, they could have been a political settlement. pakistan is a democracy. you've had periods and military rule, they seem to be on a pretty stable path of democracy. right now, i've got to stop was a democracy from 2004. yes, maybe a floored democracy. no one is mentioning elections or voting for africans now has the international community given up on the idea of afghans having democracy? no, i don't think they have even been the talk for going on. there was an understanding that they will be in data management before they go into elections. right? so let things settle down, let things come down,

let people feel secure. then we can talk about representation. now in terms of recognition of the town up on your here at the un general assembly lead us from around the world. this is the one week where they're all in one place. the taliban of written a letter saying that they want to be the body that has the un seat. what is pakistan view on that? do you think that the credentials committee which decides this that they should give the seat to the taliban? i think the credentials committee could good and should think by giving a seat to the representative who was appointed by the previous government that fled and is no longer there. he has no boss who there is no boss. there is no acceptability. the rulers, in the authorities in cobble do not recognize him. what role can he play?

who does he speak for? you know, you know, it's just a really practical way of looking at things who deleted present. so that's the un seat pakistan also has to decide as a country whether to recognise the taliban as the government of afghanistan. last time the taliban were in power in the 1990. you were one of just 3 governments that recognize the taliban. what are your thoughts on that? because that will be decision for you and for your prime minister enron con. do you think it is time soon to recognize that all of us we are, we are watching video observing, as things unfold. and we will take that decision at an appropriate time. sharma, mood, crashing foreign minister of pakistan. thank you for talking to our to say,

thank you, i me . ah, ah, ah, unprompted and uninterrupted discussions from london, broadcast santana on. when you from a neighborhood known as a hot bed of radicalism. ready you have to fight to defy stereotype. the reading goes from the stories we don't often hear told by the people who lived them. know my joy. i just

found mother box this year on al jazeera. ah, me. hello i marianna, my v in london with a look at the main stories. now, germany's 2 main political parties are locked in a tight race to form. a new government turn out was high in this election at 78 percent. according to the federal election commission, though, the race is to close the coal with a center right see to you and center left to s p. d, separated by a razor thin margin. no.