India came down heavily on Pakistan and said Islamabad thinks it has the “right to practice cross-border terrorism with impunity”
India on Thursday reaffirmed its support to Afghanistan amid the country’s escalating border tensions with Pakistan, saying it stands with its sovereignty.
The ministry of external affairs (MEA) came down heavily on Pakistan over cross-border terrorism and said Islamabad thinks it can get away with impunity.
“Pakistan thinks they can keep doing cross-border terrorism without being punished. We are committed to the sovereignty of Afghanistan,” said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
Jaiswal said India remains “fully committed” to the “sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence” of Afghanistan.
“I reiterate what I had said in my last briefing. Pakistan is infuriated with Afghanistan exercising sovereignty over its own territories and seems to think that it has the right to practice cross-border terrorism with impunity. Its neighbours find it unacceptable. India remains fully committed to the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence of Afghanistan,” he said.
The military conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan erupted earlier this month following a Pakistani airstrike on Kabul. Afghanistan strongly responded to the attack following which the conflict escalated.
The MEA’s remarks come amid worsening relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan following the failure of peace talks held in Turkey this week. On Wednesday (October 29), the tensions deepened after Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif issued a severe warning to the Taliban regime, threatening possible military strikes inside Afghan territory.
Asif has also levelled serious charges against India, explicitly blaming New Delhi for the failure of its ceasefire talks with Afghanistan. He said India is actively attempting to sabotage the agreement between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban regime.
He claimed that India is waging a “proxy war via Afghanistan with Pakistan”, adding that Islamabad harbours “no doubts” that New Delhi is “financing proxies against Pakistan through Kabul”.
The Pakistani minister’s allegations of India’s interference came with pointed criticism of some members of the Afghan Taliban regime. He referenced foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s visit to India, suggesting that certain Taliban leaders are “playing dirty on India’s behest”.