Afghanistan raised strong objections on Sunday against Pakistan for linking the current situation in Kashmir with the ongoing Afghan peace talks and said it is "reckless, unwarranted and irresponsible".
Afghanistan's ambassador to the US Roya Rahmani said in a statement: "Any such statements that link the evolving situation in Kashmir to the Afghan peace efforts are reckless, unwarranted and irresponsible."
Rahmani responded to the recent remark made by Pakistan's ambassador to the US, Asad Majeed Khan, who said the Kashmir tensions "could potentially affect the Afghanistan peace process".
The Afghan diplomat said that Kashmir is a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan and slammed Khan's remark as Pakistan's "deliberate attempt to prolong the violence happening in Afghan soil." She called Pakistan's claim a "poor excuse" to justify its inaction against the Taliban to "avoid taking a decisive stance against the militant group".
The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan strongly questions the assertion made by Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, Asad Majeed Khan, that the ongoing tensions in Kashmir could potentially affect Afghanistan’s peace process. pic.twitter.com/OASLSsZQ0x
— Afghan Embassy DC (@Embassy_of_AFG) August 18, 2019
Rahmani further detailed the cross border conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan and condemned Pakistan-based, sanctioned and supported militant and terrorist groups that undermine Afghan security.
She said Khan's remarks were contrary to the "positive and constructive engagement Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had with Prime Minister Imran Khan and Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa on his recent visit to the country".
Washington is negotiating a deal with the Taliban regarding the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and a political agreement between the two sides to end the war in Afghanistan spanning 19-years.
The talks are interweaved with several political tensions between the Taliban, Washington and Kabul government. The former US ambassador to Afghanistan and Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, is seeking a tri-state agreement with representative delegations from opposition leaders and civil society members.
Tensions between the terror organisation and the Afghan government has made negotiations between them difficult as the Taliban condemns Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's government and calls them a US puppet.
