New Delhi: Warning Pakistan against “playing games” with Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi has condemned the multiple explosions in the landlocked country, including the capital city Kabul on October 10 and said the “courage of Afghans should not be tested”.
A series of explosions and bursts of gunfire rattled Afghanistan’s capital late Thursday evening, prompting social media speculation that Pakistan was behind the attack, Al Jazeera reported.
Speaking at a press conference at the Afghanistan embassy in Delhi, Muttaqi said, “There has been an attack near the border in remote areas. We consider this act of Pakistan wrong. Problems cannot be solved like this… We have kept the door to discussion open. They should solve their problem on their own. Afghanistan has peace and progress after 40 years. No one should have a problem with it… We are an independent nation. Why are people troubled if we have peace… We want better relations with India and Pakistan, but it cannot be one-sided.”
“The courage of Afghans should not be tested. If someone wants to do this, they should ask the Soviet Union, America and NATO, so that they can explain that it is not good to play games with Afghanistan,” he added on Friday.
Addressing concerns about the use of Afghan territory for terrorism, Muttaqi clarified, “That can never happen. There is an Afghan rule on Afghan land. The government there is strong…”
The Afghan Foreign Minister also stressed the country’s territorial integrity, stating, “Even one inch of Afghan land is not captured by anyone… In the last four years, everyone has been removed… If everyone brought peace to their own countries, as Afghanistan has done, then there would be peace everywhere. There has not been even a minor incident in Afghanistan in the last eight months. Afghanistan has not caused any harm to any nation in the last four years.”
Meanwhile, the Taliban government spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, confirmed that an explosion had been heard in Kabul, saying the cause was under investigation.
The incident came amid worsening relations between Afghanistan and its western neighbour Pakistan, which has accused the Taliban government – in power since August 2021 – of providing safe havens to armed groups, particularly the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which Islamabad blames for a surge in attacks on its security forces.
The explosions also coincided with the arrival of the Taliban administration’s foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, in India for a six-day visit, the first such trip since the Taliban’s return to power.
Following the Kabul explosions, speculation swirled on social media that Pakistan was behind the attack, allegedly targeting senior TTP leaders, including its chief, Noor Wali Mehsud, as per Al Jazeera. (With inputs from ANI)
