Islamabad: Authorities in Pakistan, on Wednesday, blamed India for the failure in peace talks with Afghanistan. They claimed that Kabul backtracked on commitments to control militancy with New Delhi’s backing.
Pakistani defence minister Khawaja Asif also blamed India for the failure of the talks, calling Kabul “a tool for Delhi”.
Speaking to Geo News, Asif said that Taliban negotiators went back on the agreement “four or five times” after receiving instructions from Kabul.
“Whenever we got close to an agreement – either in the last four days or last week – when negotiators reported to Kabul, then there was intervention and the agreement was withdrawn,” he said.
This is not for the first time that Pakistan has accused India of backing Afghanistan against it. Both New Delhi and Kabul have called these accusations baseless.
Incidentally, the Taliban that now rules Afghanistan is a creation of Pakistan. It is a case of the monster turning against the master.
India has always maintained that it has no truck with the Taliban but cherishes its age-old ties with Afghanistan that existed since well before Independence and Partition.
India is now planning to elevate its Mission in Kabul to an Embassy. New Delhi has, however, made it clear that it has nothing to do with Afghanistan’s relations with Pakistan. Neither can India be accused of providing any military support to Afghanistan.
“Since India has been able to expose Pakistan’s links to cross border terrorism before the world, Islamabad is now attempting to tarnish India’s image. However, it is a well known fact that India has nothing to do with whatever is going on between Afghanistan and Pakistan,” an official in New Delhi said.
Meanwhile, Pakistani security agencies are now gearing up for sustained fighting along the Durand Line, a border that Afghanistan does not recognise.
Attaullah Tarar, Pakistan’s minister for information and broadcasting, confirmed the peace talks ended without a breakthrough.
“The dialogue thus failed to bring about any workable solution,” he said in a post on social media.