Pakistan has strongly condemned the 'baseless' insinuations by Afghan National Security Advisor Hamdullah Mohib, alleging Pakistan's involvement in the internal affairs of Afghanistan.
Responding to remarks by the Afghan National Security Advisor, Foreign Office Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said that Pakistan's role in the Afghan Peace Process has been widely acknowledged by the international community.
He said the repeated impertinent and unwarranted remarks by the Afghan National Security Advisor are deeply concerning as they are tantamount to a calculated attempt by his office to disregard and nullify the progress in the peace process so far.
The spokesperson said, “We would also like to remind the Afghan NSA, of mutual understanding reached in Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity, obligating both sides to avoid public blame-game and use official channels to discuss complete gamut of bilateral relations.”
The diplomatic spat between Pakistan and Afghan national security adviser (NSA) is not subsiding as the latest diatribe by Hamdullah Mohib on Friday prompted Foreign Office to call his statement a deliberate attempt to nullify the peace efforts.
This is the second time Pakistan had to issue a strong rejoinder to the Afghan NSA in recent weeks and comes at a time when Afghan peace process hangs in balance.
The latest war of words was triggered by Mohib’s tweet, accusing Pakistan of interfering in the internal matters of Afghanistan while referring to the recent interview of Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to an Afghan television.
Qureshi in his interview said Afghan Taliban alone could not be held responsible for the violence in Afghanistan as he pointed fingers to other players including ‘spoilers’ who did not wish peace to return to the war-torn country.