The Foreign Office (FO) on Saturday night censured Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi for his comments during his visit to India and said “deflecting” the responsibility of checking terrorism could not absolve Afghan authorities of their responsibilities towards regional peace.
Muttaqi visited India earlier this week, marking India’s first high-level engagement with the Taliban government since it came to power in 2021. Speaking about a Thursday night explosion in Kabul during a press conference in New Delhi a day ago, Muttaqi condemned the incident and Pakistan for its alleged role in it, saying: “Whatever the problems are in each country, they must be resolved by themselves.”
He said there were no terrorist organizations or groups left in Afghanistan. “If other countries make peace on their own like we did in Afghanistan, then there will be peace in the entire region. Since the last eight months, there has not been even a small incident in Afghanistan. In four years, no one has been injured on Afghan soil. So this is the best proof we have presented.”
In a statement issued today, the FO said Pakistan’s strong reservations on the elements of the India-Afghanistan joint statement were conveyed to Afghanistan’s ambassador to Pakistan today by the Additional Secretary for Foreign Affairs (West Asia and Afghanistan) in the Ministry of External Affairs.
“Pakistan also strongly rejected the Afghan Acting Foreign Minister’s claim that terrorism is Pakistan’s internal problem,” the FO said, adding that Pakistan had repeatedly shared details about the presence of Fitna al-Khawarij and Fitna al-Hindustan terrorist elements “operating from Afghan soil against Pakistan with the support of elements inside Afghanistan.”
Fitna al-Khawarij is a term that the State uses to refer to terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and Fitna al-Hindustan for Balochistan-based groups to highlight India’s alleged role in terrorism and destabilization across Pakistan.
“It was emphasized that diverting the responsibility of controlling terrorism towards Pakistan cannot exempt the interim Afghan government from its obligations to ensure peace and stability in the region and beyond,” the FO said.
Elaborating on reservations regarding the joint statement, the FO said, “It was conveyed that the reference to Jammu and Kashmir as part of India is a clear violation of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the legal status of Jammu and Kashmir. The joint statement is highly insensitive to the sacrifices and sentiments of the Indian people of illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir in their just struggle for right to self-determination”.
The FO said Pakistan had “generously” welcomed nearly four million Afghans for more than four decades “in a spirit of good neighborliness and Islamic brotherhood.”
He said that with the gradual return of peace to Afghanistan, it was time for unauthorized Afghan citizens residing in Pakistan to return to their country.
“Like all other countries and in accordance with international norms and practices, Pakistan has the right to regulate the presence of foreign citizens residing within its territory. At the same time, along with the repatriation of Afghan citizens, Pakistan has also been generously issuing medical and study visas to address the medical and educational needs of Afghan citizens. In the spirit of Islamic brotherhood and good neighborly relations, Pakistan will continue to provide humanitarian support. to the people of Afghanistan.”
“Pakistan wishes to see a peaceful, stable, regionally connected and prosperous Afghanistan. Accordingly, Pakistan has extended all possible trade, economic and connectivity facilities to Afghanistan. Such measures are aimed at promoting cooperation and socio-economic development of the two countries,” the FO added.
At the same time, he said the government had the responsibility to “take all possible measures for the safety of its people.”
The FO concluded by saying that Pakistan “expects the interim Afghan government to play its due role in supporting Pakistan in achieving this noble objective by taking concrete steps to prevent its territory from being used” by terrorist elements against Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif earlier said export of terrorism from Afghanistan would vitiate the atmosphere and cause a rift in bilateral relations that Pakistan did not want.
The issue of terrorists using Afghan soil against Pakistan, along with frequent border skirmishes, has long strained ties between the two countries, and Islamabad has repeatedly urged the interim Afghan government to stop allowing its territory to be used for attacks.
Last week was particularly loaded with statements from both sides, as Pakistan suffered a series of martyrdoms by security forces in intelligence-based operations, while Afghanistan accused the former of violating its sovereignty.
Addressing the topic in an interview with Geographic newsAsif said: “The terrorism they are exporting to Pakistan will create a rift in relations in this environment, which is not our wish. We want our relations to continue respectfully.”
The Defense Minister also asked people to monitor and take note of any suspicious activity among themselves and take action as a community against any terrorist facilitators. “If you remain silent out of fear or for any other reason, then I think it is understood as an agreement.”
Islamabad maintains its patience is wearing thin after a series of deadly attacks inside Pakistan that it blames on militants operating from Afghan territory. “Enough is enough, the patience of the Pakistani government and armed forces has run out,” Asif had said in the National Assembly on Thursday.
Kabul, however, denies accusations of providing safe haven to these groups.
Meanwhile, Afghan officials publicly blamed Pakistan a day ago. The Afghan Defense Ministry said: “Once again, Pakistan violated Afghan airspace, bombed a civilian market in Paktika airspace near the Durand Line and also violated the territory of the capital Kabul.”
At a separate press conference in Peshawar, held almost simultaneously with the FO briefing, military spokesman Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry also refused to confirm or deny whether the military had carried out attacks in Kabul. However, he stressed Pakistan’s right and determination to defend itself. “Afghanistan is being used as a base of operations to carry out terrorism in Pakistan. There is evidence of this too,” he said.
