Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Wednesday warned Afghanistan that if Kabul failed to stop harbouring terrorists, Pakistan would respond in the same way it had against India last year.
Addressing the National Assembly, Asif said: “If they are not ready, then what we did with Delhi, we will do the same with Kabul.” The minister asserted that Afghanistan had effectively become an instrument of Indian policy.
“At this time, Afghanistan has become India’s proxy,” he said, adding: “Kabul is fighting a Hindutva war against us,” and that “there is no difference between Delhi and Kabul at this time,” although Pakistan sincerely wished otherwise.
Asif said Pakistan had repeatedly attempted to engage Afghanistan through diplomatic channels, including via Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, but those efforts had failed to yield results. “In negotiations in Qatar, Afghanistan agreed to everything but later refused to give guarantees,” he said, adding that Kabul was willing to agree verbally but not in writing.