U.S. finds Pakistan useful only to clean up mess in Afghanistan -Khan

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani arrives in Mazar-i-Sharif to check the security situation of the northern provinces, Afghanistan August 11, 2021. Afghan Presidential palace/Handout via REUTERS

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan accused the United States of seeing his country as useful only in the context of the "mess" it is leaving behind in Afghanistan after 20 years of fighting.

Washington has been pressing Pakistan to use its influence over the Taliban to broker an elusive peace deal as negotiations between the insurgents and Afghan government have stalled, and violence in Afghanistan has escalated sharply.