Pakistan fumes over India-Afghanistan talks: Rattled over joint statement, lodges protest to Kabul; objects to terror remarks

Are you from India? 🇮🇳

shehbaz sharif (left), Amir Muttaqi and S Jaishankar (File – agencies)

Pakistan has lodged formal objections with Afghanistan’s Ambassador in Islamabad over several ‘elements of the India‑Afghanistan joint statement’, particularly the reference to Jammu and Kashmir as ‘part of India’. It also rejected remarks by Afghan foreign minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi that “terrorism is an internal problem of Pakistan,” the Pakistani ministry of foreign affairs (MOFA) said.

The foreign office said: “It was conveyed that the reference to Jammu and Kashmir as part of India is in 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 people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir in their just struggle for the right to self‑determination.”In addition, Islamabad strongly rebutted Muttaqi’s claim, saying: “Pakistan has repeatedly shared details regarding the presence of Fitna‑e‑Khawarij and Fitna‑e‑Hindustan terrorist elements operating from Afghan soil against Pakistan with support from elements within Afghanistan.”The Pakistani statement added that deflecting responsibility by branding terrorism in Pakistan as an “internal matter” does not relieve Afghanistan’s interim government of its duty to ensure regional peace and security. It also urged that “unauthorised Afghan nationals residing in Pakistan” return to their country.These protests follow a joint statement issued on October 10 during Muttaqi’s visit to India, where both nations reiterated condemnation of terrorism emanating from regional countries, affirmed respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and affirmed that the Afghan government would not permit any group or individual to use Afghan territory against India. In that statement, external affairs minister S Jaishankar expressed gratitude for Afghanistan’s condemnation of the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir, while Afghanistan reaffirmed its support in counterterrorism.“Both sides emphasised respect for each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The external affairs minister appreciated the Afghan side’s understanding of India’s security concerns. The Afghan foreign minister reiterated the commitment that the Afghan government will not allow any group or individual to use the territory of Afghanistan against India,” the statement issued by the ministry of external affairs (MEA) read.Muttaqi is on a week-long visit to India (October 9–16), the first such high-level visit since the Taliban takeover in 2021. Earlier, he said the “future of India‑Afghanistan relations seems very bright.”