Deflecting responsibility can’t absolve Afghan govt of obligations towards regional peace: FO

A combination photo of Foreign Office Spokesperson Ambassador Shafqat Ali Khan and Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. — Foreign Office/Reuters/File

The Foreign Office (FO) on Saturday night censured Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi for remarks during his visit to India and said “deflecting” the responsibility of controlling terrorism could not absolve the 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 took power in 2021. Speaking about a Thursday night explosion in Kabul during a press conference in New Delhi a day ago, Muttaqi had condemned the incident and Pakistan for its alleged role in it, saying: “Whatever the problems are in each country should be solved by themselves.”

He said there was no terrorist organisation or group left in Afghanistan. “If other countries achieve peace themselves as 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 harmed from Afghanistan’s soil. So this is the best proof that 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 by the additional foreign secretary (West Asia & Afghanistan) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today.

“Pakistan also strongly rejected the Afghan acting foreign minister’s assertion that terrorism is Pakistan’s internal problem,” the FO said, adding that Pakistan had repeatedly shared details regarding the presence of Fitna al-Khawarij and Fitna al-Hindustan terrorist elements “operating from Afghan soil against Pakistan with support from elements within Afghanistan”.

Fitna al-Khawarij is a term the state uses for 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 destabilisation across Pakistan.

“It was emphasised that by deflecting the responsibility of controlling terrorism towards Pakistan cannot absolve the Interim Afghan Government of its obligations towards ensuring 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 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.”

The FO said that Pakistan had “generously” hosted nearly four million Afghans for over four decades “in the spirit of good neighbourliness and Islamic brotherhood”.

It said that with peace gradually returning to Afghanistan, it was time for unauthorised Afghan nationals residing in Pakistan to return to their country.

“Like all other countries and in line with international norms and practices, Pakistan has the right to regulate the presence of foreign nationals residing inside its territory. At the same time, along with the repatriation of Afghan nationals, Pakistan has also been generously issuing medical and study visas to address the medical and educational needs of Afghan nationals. In the spirit of Islamic brotherhood and good neighbourly relations, Pakistan will continue to extend humanitarian support to the people of Afghanistan.”

“Pakistan is desirous of seeing a peaceful, stable, regionally connected and prosperous Afghanistan. Accordingly, Pakistan has extended all possible trade, economic and connectivity facilitation to Afghanistan. Such measures are aimed at promoting cooperation and socio-economic development of the two countries,” the FO added.

At the same time, it said the government had the responsibility to “take all possible measures for the safety and security of its people”.

The FO concluded by saying that Pakistan “expects the interim Afghan government to play its due role in supporting Pakistan to achieve this noble objective by taking concrete measures to prevent its territory from being used” by terrorist elements against Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said earlier that Afghanistan’s export of terrorism would vitiate the atmosphere and cause a fissure in bilateral relations that Pakistan did not desire.

The issue of terrorists using Afghan soil against Pakistan, along with frequent border skirmishes, has long strained ties between the two countries, with Islamabad repeatedly urging the interim Afghan government to stop allowing its territory to be used for attacks.

The past week was particularly charged with statements to and fro from both sides as Pakistan suffered a string of martyrdoms of security forces in intelligence-based operations, while Afghanistan accused the former of violating its sovereignty.

Addressing the matter in an interview with Geo News, Asif said: “The terrorism they’re exporting to Pakistan, there will be a fissure created in relations in this environment, which is not our desire. We want our relations to continue respectfully.”

The defence minister also called on people to monitor and take notice of any suspicious activity in their midst and take action as a community against any terrorist facilitators. “If you remain silent due to fear or any other reason, then I think it is understood as agreement.’’

Islamabad maintains that 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, Pakistan government and armed forces’ patience has worn out,” Asif had said on Thursday in the National Assembly.

Kabul, however, denies allegations of providing safe havens to these groups.

Afghan officials, meanwhile, publicly blamed Pakistan a day ago. The Afghan defence ministry said, “Once again, Pakistan violated Afghan airspace, bombed a civilian market in the Paktika airspace near the Durand Line, and also violated the territory of the capital Kabul.”

Speaking at a separate news conference in Peshawar, held almost simultaneously with the FO briefing, military spokesperson Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry also declined to confirm or deny whether the military had carried out strikes in Kabul. He nonetheless underscored Pakistan’s right and resolve to defend itself. “Afghanistan is being used as a base of operations for carrying out terrorism in Pakistan. There is also evidence of this,” he said.