NEW DELHI: The Taliban have backed India’s sovereignty over Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) drawing a blistering response from Pakistan over the issue amidst its already tense relationship with Afghanistan that was exacerbated further by heavy border clashes in the past few days. Amidst an outrage in Pakistan, Taliban officials pointed to the fact that India and Taliban backed each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the joint statement issued after external affairs minister S Jaishankar’s meeting with Afghan foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. Pakistan sees Afghanistan as opening a new front in the strained relationship by endorsing a mention of J&K in the joint statement as located in India. Pakistan has lodged a formal protest with Afghanistan saying the mention violates UNSC resolutions and legal status of J&K but New Delhi sees the joint statement as underscoring its position that India and Afghanistan are contiguous neighbours because the PoK shares a 106-km long border with Afghanistan. Jaishankar, in fact, reiterated in his remarks in the meeting that as a contiguous neighbour and a well-wisher of the Afghan people, India has a deep interest in Afghanistan’s development and progress. Islamabad summoned the Afghanistan ambassador to say that the joint statement was highly insensitive. President Asif Ali Zardari accused the Taliban of turning away from the Kashmiri people and doing injustice to “history as well as Muslim Ummah”.Meanwhile, as the Afghanistan-Pakistan clashes intensified, Muttaqi in a press conference in the Afghan embassy accused “certain elements” in Pakistan of fomenting trouble with Afghanistan and said if Pakistan doesn’t want peace, Afghanistan has other options as well. Denying that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has any presence left in Afghanistan, Muttaqi said the people of Pakistan, a vast majority, are peace-loving and want good relations with Afghanistan. Dozens have been killed in the clashes that erupted while Muttaqi was on Indian soil but the minister said the situation, after Taliban’s retaliation, was now under control. “Afghanistan will safeguard its borders and its national interest, and that is why it immediately retaliated to the escalation from Pakistan. We achieved our military objectives last night, and our friends, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, have expressed that this conflict should come to an end, so we have paused it from our side for the time being,” said Muttaqi. “The situation is now under control. We only want good relations and peace. Afghanistan is finally free and is working for peace…Pakistan doesn’t want good relations and peace, then Afghanistan has other options as well,” added the minister. On Pakistan’s claims that the TTP is being sheltered by the Taliban, Muttaqi said the border was 2400-km long and neither “chengez (Genghis Khan)” nor “angrez (Englishmen)” were able to control it. “Strength alone cannot control it. If Pakistan wants peace, they have a bigger army and better intelligence – why are they not controlling it? This fight is inside Pakistan. Instead of blaming us, they should control the problems on their soil,” said the minister.
