ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Special Representative on Religious Harmony and the Middle East, Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi, has said the Afghan Taliban were not subjects of Pakistan but a “free and independent” entity, adding that the Organization of Islamic Cooperation stood with Pakistan on the issues of the disputed Kashmir region.
The comments about the Afghan Taliban come amid an upsurge in fighting and the flight of thousands of members of the tattered Afghan security forces, which have raised grave doubts about the future of United States-backed peace negotiations between the Taliban and the Kabul government.
The talks began last year under the then-President Donald Trump’s administration. President Joe Biden has announced the US will withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by September 11 this year, later than a May 1 deadline set out by the previous administration.
Pakistan has repeatedly said a negotiated settlement is the only way to end decades of war in Afghanistan. It helped facilitate US-Taliban negotiations in Doha that resulted in the initial May 1 troop withdrawal deal and wields considerable influence with the Taliban. The insurgents are believed to have sanctuaries in Pakistan, which Islamabad has repeatedly denied.
“Afghan government officials should make responsible statements, as Afghan Taliban are not subject (dependent) to Pakistan, they are free and independent,” Ashrafi told reporters on Monday. “Pakistan does not interfere in internal affairs of any other country including Afghanistan, and neither intends to do so in future.”
Pakistani military Spokesperson Major General Babar Iftikhar had also said in an interview last week Islamabad had “no favorites” among Afghan stakeholders and was a “facilitator” of the Afghan peace process and not a “guarantor.”
Responding to a question, Ashrafi said the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) had stood with Pakistan on the issue of Kashmir, a disputed border territory that both Pakistan and India claim in full but rule in part.
On August 5, 2019, New Delhi scrapped Articles 370 and 35A of the Indian constitution that granted special autonomous status to the region. It also divided the state into two federally administered units — Union Territory of Ladakh and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The move was followed by a crackdown on political activity, arrests of hundreds of political leaders and activists, and a lockdown of the region, which has raised tensions with Pakistan.
“Imran Khan is the ambassador of Kashmir and possibility of [resumption of] dialogues with India are linked to the resolution of the Kashmir issue,” Ashrafi said.
