Pressmediaofindia
Related Articles
17-07-2021
By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report + ANI
ISLAMABAD/ KABUL: Afghanistan slams Pakistan over the continuous full moral, ethical, financial, logistical, and economical and all other types of supports, assistances and shelters to Taliban of both countries and dozens of many other national and international terrorist groups, anti-Shia organizations individuals (characters) and regimes especially Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) but the Pakistani former and present governments, officials, authorities, political and religious pundits, spokespersons of Security Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) have not only been rejecting, condemning and reacting these types of accusations and allegations but also claiming exactly opposite as leveled, while neither the world nor global media particularly immigration ministries of the world accept, flash, acknowledge, second and endorse these kinds of claims those are now being highlighted, printed, on-aired and confirmed as had been printed and published and are being rapidly flashed only by PMI during the period of last thirty years but those were always remained controversial or considered as suspicious and unconfirmed, sources told PMI.
Slamming Pakistan over its denial of the presence of the Taliban on its soil, Afghan first Vice President Amrullah Saleh on Friday said that the statement of the denial is just a pre-written paragraph.
“On Pakistani denial; for over twenty years Pakistan denied the existence of Quetta Shura or presence of Talib terrorist leaders in its soil. Those familiars with this pattern, Afghan or foreign, known exactly that issuing a statement of denial is just a pre-written paragraph”, Saleh twitted.
Yesterday Saleh said that Pakistan is giving air support to the Taliban and has threatened to hit back if Afghan forces try to retake the Spin Boldak border area.
“If anyone doubts my tweet on Pak Air Force and Pak Army warning to the Afghanistan not to retake Spin Boldak, I am ready to share evidence through DM. Afghan aircrafts as far as 10 kilometers from Spin Boldak are warned to back off or face air to air missiles. Afghanistan is too big to be swallowed”, he twitted.
Earlier on Thursday, Saleh, who is critical to Pakistan’s policies in Afghanistan, took to twitter and said that the Pakistan Air Force now providing close air support to the Taliban in certain areas.
Pakistan Air Force has issued an official warning to the Afghan Army and Air Force that any move to dislodge the Taliban from Spin Boldak area will be faced and repelled by the Pakistan Air Force. Pak Air Force is now providing close air support to Taliban in certain areas”, Saleh twitted.
Pakistan had earlier confirmed that the Taliban were in control of a key town on the Afghan side of its border area. “They have taken control of Spin Boldak border crossing”, said Pakistan Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri, as quoted by Pakistan Observer.
This comes after the Taliban’s claim that they have seized the border town as part of an offensive across the war-torn country. Local media on Wednesday reported that the Taliban has captured the main border crossing with Pakistan, In Southern Kandahar province.
Last week, the Afghanistan government had said that the fall of the key dry ports has disrupted exports and imports, imposing negative impacts on the country’s economic activities.
Afghan officials have accused Pakistan of extending support to Taliban terrorists and provide safe heaven to them. Pakistan has denied these claims despite overwhelming evidence to prove otherwise.
Additionally, Pakistan ministers and officials, then and now, issue statement providing that Pakistan host and support Taliban.
Recently, Pakistan Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said families of Afghanistan’s Taliban live in his country, including in the capital city of Islamabad and sometimes the members of the insurgent outfit are treated in local hospitals.
Pakistan’s Imran Khan rejects Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s allegations about Islamabad’s “negative role” in Afghanistan, saying no country has tried harder to get Taliban insurgents on the negotiation table.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has slammed Afghanistan’s accusation of “playing negative role” in the war-torn country, saying Pakistan hosts some three million Afghan refugees and that no country has tried harder to get Taliban insurgents on the dialogue table.
Responding to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s allegations regarding Pakistan’s role in the ongoing Afghan conflict, PM Khan said on Friday such comments disappointed him despite his country’s “positive” role in the Afghan peace process.
“President Ghani, let me just say that the country that is going to be most affected by turmoil in Afghanistan is Pakistan,” Khan responded to Ghani while addressing an international conference in Uzbekistan.
“Pakistan suffered 70,000 casualties in the last 15 years. The last thing Pakistan wants is more conflict,” Khan said.
“I can assure you that no country has tried harder to get the Taliban on the dialogue table than Pakistan. We have made every effort, short of taking a military action against the Taliban in Pakistan,” Pakistani premier said, adding: “To blame Pakistan for what is going on in Afghanistan is extremely unfair.”
‘Really disappointed’ by Ghani’s accusations
Referring to his last year’s visit to Kabul, Khan said: “I came to Kabul. Why would I come to Kabul if I was not interested and the whole idea was that you should have looked upon Pakistan as a partner in peace.”
Khan said when over 150,000 US and NATO troops were in Afghanistan that was the right time to ask the Taliban to come to the table.
“When the exit date was given, and the only few thousand American troops left, why would they listen to us, when they [Taliban] are sensing victory,” Khan said, while the US top peace envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, was listening to him.
“I feel really disappointed that we have been blamed for what is going on in Afghanistan.”
Three million Afghan refugees in Pakistan
Khan said all the neighbours want lasting peace in Afghanistan.
“There are already three million refugees in Pakistan. We are petrified that there’ll be another flow of refugees coming in. We do not have the capacity or the economic strength to bear another inflow of refugees. So, I can assure you, again. If any country is trying its best out of all the other countries in the world, it’s Pakistan today,” Khan added.
Later, Khan and Ghani also met and discussed the current situation in Afghanistan.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, National Security Adviser Moeed Yusuf, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid and Director General of ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed also attended the meeting.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has rejected allegations made by a senior Afghan official that it had provided “close air support” to the Afghan Taliban after the armed group took over a key border crossing between the two countries, a Pakistani foreign ministry statement says.
Afghanistan’s First Vice President Amrullah Saleh on Thursday evening alleged that Pakistani forces were supporting the Afghan Taliban after they took control of the Spin Boldak border crossing with Pakistan in Kandahar province earlier this week.
Saleh had alleged that the Pakistani air force had “issued official warning to the Afghan Army and Air Force that any move to dislodge the Taliban from Spin Boldak area will be faced and repelled by the Pakistan Air Force”.
The top Afghan official accused Pakistan of providing “close air support to Taliban in certain areas”.
On Friday, Pakistan’s foreign ministry, in its statement, said Pakistan’s air force was restricted to protecting the Pakistani air space.
“The Afghan side conveyed to Pakistan its intention of carrying out air operation inside its territory opposite Chaman Sector of Pakistan,” said the statement.
“Pakistan responded positively to Afghan Government’s right to act in its territory. In spite of very close border operations normally not acceded to by internationally accepted norms/standards/procedures, Pakistan took necessary measures within its territory to safeguard our own troops and population.”
The statement said that Pakistan acknowledged the Afghan government’s “right to undertake actions on its sovereign territory”.
The spat comes after the Afghan Taliban forces took control of the Spin Boldak crossing, known as Chaman on the Pakistani side of the border, on Wednesday.
The white flag of the Afghan Taliban replaced the Afghan government’s flag at the border crossing, and it remained in place on Friday, although fighting is ongoing.
Pakistani authorities told Al Jazeera they reopened the border crossing, which is one of the main trade and travel routes between the two countries, for a short period on Thursday to allow stranded Afghans and Pakistanis to return home if they so wished.
The border remained closed on Friday, according to a statement by authorities in Chaman.
The United States is weeks away from a full troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, under a peace deal signed with the Afghan Taliban in February 2020.
In recent days, the Afghan Taliban have launched a large offensive across the county, taking control of several district capitals from Afghan government forces.
Direct peace talks between the Afghan Taliban and Afghan government, stalled for months, are due to resume in the Qatari capital Doha, with senior officials saying talks could take place on Friday.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry on Thursday said its plans to hold a three-day Afghan peace conference in the Pakistani capital Islamabad from Saturday remained unchanged, with several senior Afghan leaders invited to those talks.
