India on Thursday (Oct 17) said that it was an old practice of Pakistan to blame its neighbours for its internal failures, after Pakistani minister claimed that Afghan Taliban was "fighting a proxy war" on behalf of New Delhi. In the weekly media briefing by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal slammed Pakistan stating that it is the country that “hosts terrorist organisations and sponsors terrorist activities.” He then added that Pakistan has a old habit of putting blame on neighbours. He also claimed that Islamabad is not happy with Afghanistan exercising its sovereignty over its own territories. The MEA spokesperson mentioned that India was closely monitoring the fragile ceasefire between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
"We are closely monitoring the situation. Pakistan hosts terrorist organisations and sponsors terrorist activities. It is a old habit of Pakistan to put blame on neighbours…Pakistan is infuriated with Afghanistan exercising sovereignty over its own territories. India remains fully committed to the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence of Afghanistan," Jaiswal said.
Amid increasing hostility between Pakistan and Afghanistan and deadly clashes on the border, Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has blamed India. Issuing a baseless allegation, Asif highlighted the timing of the clashes at the border and said that it happened during Afghani foreign minister's India visit. Slamming the Taliban, Asif alleged that it is fighting ‘India’s proxy war.' This came after both the countries agreed to a temporary ceasefire for 48 hours starting 6:00 p.m. Pakistan local time (1300 GMT) on Wednesday (Oct 15).
Speaking to Geo News, Asif said, "I have my doubts that the ceasefire will hold, because the decisions of the [Afghan] Taliban are being sponsored by Delhi…Right now, Kabul is fighting a proxy war for Delhi." Pointing fingers at Taliban's Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi's India visit, he alleged that some ulterior “plans” were hatched during the six-day India visit. However, Asif did not provide any proof of his claims. Earlier, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had described the Afghan people as “enemies” of Pakistan, claiming that despite Pakistan showing them respect, they had responded with betrayal. Echoing similar sentiments, Asif said in an interview that Afghans “have always been loyal to India and against Pakistan in the past and present, and they would continue to remain the same in the future as well."
