Afghanistan slams Pakistan, calls move to link Kashmir with Taliban peace process as ‘poor excuse’

Washington: Afghanistan has come down heavily on Pakistan for trying to link the Kashmir issue with the Afghan peace process, calling it a ‘poor excuse’. Rejecting Islamabad’s claim that the Kashmir issue could likely have an impact on the ongoing Afghan-Taliban peace process, Kabul said it was a "reckless and unwarranted" statement and an attempt to shield to its inaction against the Taliban. In a statement, Afghanistan’s Embassy in the United States categorically stated that Kashmir is a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan. The Afghanistan government further accused Pakistan of nurturing terror factories on its soil, from which terrorists are exported to Afghanistan to undermine the country’s security. The angry reaction from Afghanistan came after Pakistan's envoy to the US, Asad Majeed Khan, stated that Islamabad may be forced to withdraw troops from the Afghan border and deploy them on the Kashmir frontier in the wake of rising tensions there. Khan suggested that such a redeployment could complicate the peace talks with the Taliban spearheaded by the US. The Pakistani envoy had made the remarks in a conversation with the New York Times editorial team on August 12, after India scrapped the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. "Any such statement that links the evolving situation in Kashmir to the Afghan peace process is reckless, unwarranted and irresponsible," the Afghan Embassy statement, issued on Sunday, read. "Kashmir is a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan. We believe Pakistan's motive and insistence to purposely tie Afghanistan to the Kashmir issue is a deliberate attempt to prolong the violence happening on Afghan soil. It is a poor excuse used by Pakistan to justify its inaction against the Taliban and to avoid taking a decisive stance against the militant group," the statement added. The statement also questioned Pakistan's move to deploy tens of thousands of troops on the Afghan border. "There is no threat from Afghanistan to Pakistan. The Afghan government sees no credible reason for Pakistan to maintain tens of thousands of military troops on its western frontier," the statement read. The Afghan government reiterated that Kabul and Islamabad should work together "constructively to utilize the potential of the region to improve the lives of our respective peoples". It may be recalled that New Delhi, on August 5, revoked Article 370 of the Indian Constitution and got a legislation passed through Parliament the same week to bifurcate the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories. Following the move, Pakistan accused India of changing the status of Kashmir and approached the UNSC but a majority of foreign countries have supported India’s decisions, calling it an internal matter. The UNSC also dealt a blow to Pakistan on the issue, with all member states barring China speaking in India’s favour during the ‘closed consultations’. Source: Times Now