Afghanistan’s Taliban has rejected as “baseless” claims of Pakistan that India played a role in recent border clashes which killed dozens in both Pakistani and the Afghan sides before a ceasefire halted the fighting.
The rebuttal comes days after Pakistan’s defence minister Khawaja Asif claimed while speaking to local media that Afghanistan’s Taliban government is “fighting a proxy war” on behalf of India.
After a week of clashes, Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed on a ceasefire on October 19 following talks in Doha, which were facilitated by Qatar and Turkiye.
What did Taliban say on Pak’s ‘proxy war’ claim
Afghanistan’s defence minister, Mawlawi Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, said Pakistan’s accusations are baseless, adding that the country’s relations with India and Islamabad are guided solely by national interest.
“These claims are baseless. Afghanistan has never allowed its territory to be used against any other country. We are an independent nation and our relations with India and Pakistan are guided solely by national interest, Mawlawi Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid told Al Jazeera in an interview, a clip with translation of which was shared by Afghanistan broadcaster RTA.
“These accusations that Pakistan is making are baseless and not supported by reality. These accusations are not true and are not acceptable and will only complicate the issue rather than resolve them,” added Mawlawi Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, who is the son of Taliban founder, the late Mullah Omar.
Fighting between Afghanistan and Pakistan broke out after explosions in Kabul on October 9, that the former blamed on the latter. Days later, on October 11-12 weekend, Afghanistan launched a retaliatory border offensive, prompting Islamabad to vow a strong response.
After further clashes left soldiers and civilians dead, the two sides declared an initial 48-hour ceasefire on Wednesday, October 15.
Fresh Pakistani strikes hit Afghanistan on October 17, with Islamabad saying it was targeting armed groups that the Taliban provides safe haven to and allows to launch attacks on Pakistani territory – a claim denied by Kabul.
The two sides approved a second ceasefire on Sunday, October 19.
