Pakistan PM Imran said the country was being used as a "hired gun" by the US government during the Afghanistan war while refuting claims of offering a "safe haven" for terrorists inside the country. Imran said the best way to deal with the Taliban is to "engage" with them.

Over a month after the Taliban entered Kabul, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan told a US television channel that the group should be given more time on human rights while adding that Afghan women "will get their rights".

He also sought to defend the Haqqanis, the dreaded terror network, describing them as tribals. Haqqanis, he said are a 'Pashtun tribe living in Afghanistan. They were Mujahideen who were fighting the Soviets. They were born in a Pakistani refugee camp.

The Pakistan prime minister, speaking to CNN, took a dig at US President Joe Biden for not calling him yet, saying, "I would imagine he's very busy", while discussing the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Khan said the US-Pakistan ties are not "dependent on a phone call", describing it as a "multidimensional relationship".

Khan claimed Pakistan was being used as a "hired gun" during the war in Afghanistan and was "supposed to make the US" win, but it was unsuccessful.

His comments come even as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told US lawmakers that the Biden administration is reassessing its relationship with Pakistan.

Blinken had said Pakistan was constantly "hedging" its bets on Afghanistan, however, Khan called the comments "ignorant".

The Pakistan prime minister also refuted claims of "safe havens" for terrorists in the country, asking: "What are these safe havens?"

The Pakistan prime minister said the Afghan border had the "heaviest surveillance by US drones" and that the US authorities would have known about the safe havens. The Pakistan PM said there were "480 drone attacks by the US in Pakistan" which he said was the "only time a country has been attacked by its ally".

Khan claimed in the interview that "Afghanistan could have peace after 40 years" if the Taliban work towards an "inclusive government" and "get all the factions together", however, he cautioned that if it went wrong it would trigger a humanitarian crisis resulting in a refugee problem for Pakistan.

The Pakistan prime minister added the best way to deal with the Taliban was to "engage" with the group and "incentivise" them on women's rights and inclusive government. Imran asserted that a "puppet government" will not be supported by Afghans while calling for international aid for the country.

As Afghanistan struggles to get international aid after Western countries left the country last month, the Pakistan PM said the Taliban should be "pushed" in the right direction.