Pakistan’s defence minister Khawaja Asif on Tuesday warned Afghanistan that if the attack on Islamabad continues, then they will give a 50 times stronger response, and accused Kabul of acting as a puppet for India. The remarks came after peace talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan in Istanbul dramatically collapsed.
Speaking on Geo News programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada ke Saath’, Asif Kabul, using Pakistan’s familiar playbook of deflection, claimed that Kabul was merely a puppet in India’s hands.He said “I would compliment their delegation, but the people in Kabul pulling the strings and staging the puppet show are being controlled by Delhi.”“India is compensating for its defeat on their western border through Kabul. The junta there (in Afghanistan) has elements that have visited India and visited their temples,” Asif claimed. “India wants to engage in a low-intensity war with Pakistan. To achieve this, they are using Kabul,” he added.When asked to comment on threats by Afghanistan that they would “attack Islamabad” in the event of further hostilities, Asif replied: “If Afghanistan even looks at Islamabad, we will gouge their eyes out.“They can employ the use of terrorists and they already are. Over the past four years, they have been using terrorists,” he added.“There should be no doubt that Kabul is responsible for the terrorism in Pakistan. Kabul is a tool for Delhi. If they want to, God forbid, attack Islamabad, we will give a befitting response. A response 50 times stronger,” the defence minister said.Kabul had previously rejected Islamabad’s accusations as unfounded. Still, the Pakistani minister praised the Afghan negotiators for their cooperation — even as he directed sharp criticism at the Kabul leadership.
Pakistan repeats old claims
This is not the first time. Earlier also, Pakistan claimed India was behind a recent assault in Afghanistan. Ministry of external affairs dismissed Pakistan’s accusations that India was behind a recent assault in Afghanistan, saying Islamabad’s record of harbouring terrorism was well knownAt the weekly press briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “Three things are clear. One, Pakistan hosts terrorist organisations and sponsors terrorist activities. Two, it is an old practice of Pakistan to blame its neighbours for its own internal failures. Three, Pakistan is infuriated with Afghanistan exercising sovereignty over its own territories.” The remarks followed the collapse of the latest round of peace talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan in Turkey. According to Afghan and Pakistani sources cited by Reuters, both sides had earlier agreed to a ceasefire on October 19 in Doha but failed to make progress in Istanbul. Each country blamed the other for the stalemate. The discussions, mediated by Turkey and Qatar, concluded on Monday without any breakthrough.
