Afghanistan rejects claims of its territory used for terror acts against Pakistan

On November 14, Afghanistan “strongly” rejected the allegation of Pakistan’s Army claiming the use of Afghan territory against their country. In a statement, the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that its territory has been a “major victim” of terrorism and therefore it is committed to combating all form of terrorism “without discrimination”. The officials also added that they would not let its territory be used for “destructive activities” against other countries. 

The statement read, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan strongly rejects the allegations of the spokesman of the Pakistani Army claiming the use of Afghan territory against that country”. 

“The Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan explicitly declares that, as a major victim of terrorism, we are committed to a policy of combating all forms of terrorism, without discrimination around the world and will never allow Afghan territory to be used for destructive activities against other countries,” it further added. 

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The Afghan foreign ministry said that the nation will continue to coordinate global efforts to jointly fight terrorism, its sources of finance and equipment, their safe havens in the region and will also welcome the cooperation of all countries of the region, including Pakistan, in bilateral and multilateral cooperation formats.

The ministry added that most important foreign policy priority of the Afghan government is that the nation playing the role of a centre of regional and international cooperation based on common interests and to play a favourable role in ensuring the security and economic prosperity of the region. 

The statement by Afghanistan comes a day after Pakistan accused India of using the Afghan territory to carry out “terrorist activities” against Pakistan at a joint press conference led by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and army spokesman Major-General Barbar Iftikhar. 

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Over 3,800 violations made by Pakistan in 2020

Meanwhile, the Indian Army on Saturday destroyed several Pakistan Army bunkers, fuel dumps and launchpads, killing 10 to 12 of Pakistan's soldiers, in retaliation to unprovoked firing at four locations across the LoC, in which civilian establishments were targetted. Pakistan continues to repeatedly violate the ceasefire despite the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding between the two neighbouring countries. As per the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) statement on October 23, Pakistan has carried out 3,800 unprovoked ceasefire violations so far in 2020 itself. 

MEA Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava had informed that India has regularly taken up these violations with Pakistan through diplomatic channels. Srivastava had also stated that there have been attempts to drop arms and ammunition close to the LoC in the garb of civilian activities. He had also accused Pakistan of using drones and quadcopters for smuggling of arms and narcotic substances across the International Border (IB). “Such violations are regularly highlighted to Pakistan through diplomatic channels and at the regular DGMO level talks,” Srivastava had said.

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