Pakistan fumes over Kashmir mention in India-Afghanistan's joint statement, summons Afghan envoy
PTC News Desk: Rattled over Kashmir mention in a joint statement issued by India and Afghanistan, Pakistan on Saturday summoned Afghan envoy to convey its strong objection.
Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, who landed in New Delhi on Thursday, is on a six-day visit to India.
The Foreign Office (FO) in a statement said the Additional Foreign Secretary (West Asia & Afghanistan) conveyed Pakistan's “strong reservations” to the Afghan envoy regarding references made to Jammu and Kashmir in the joint statement.
"It was conveyed that the reference to Jammu and Kashmir as part of India is in clear violation of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the legal status of Jammu and Kashmir. The Joint Statement is highly insensitive to the sacrifices and sentiments of the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir in their just struggle for the right to self-determination," the statement said.
According to the joint statement, Afghanistan strongly criticised the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir in April and expressed its condolences to the families of the victims. It further expressed solidarity with the people and Government of India. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar thanked Afghanistan for its unequivocal condemnation of the April 22 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, which killed 26 people.
"Both sides unequivocally condemned all acts of terrorism emanating from regional countries. They underscored the importance of promoting peace, stability, and mutual trust in the region," the October 10 statement had said.
The statement was issued a day after Muttaqi blamed Pakistan for series of explosions in Afghanistan, while highlighting that Afghanistan's soil would never be used to nurture terrorism.
- PTC NEWS
