ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has expressed “strong reservations” over elements of the India-Afghanistan Joint Statement issued on October 10 in New Delhi and the accompanying remarks by the Afghan Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Mutaqqi, the foreign office said, terming them contrary to international law and regional stability.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), Pakistan conveyed its strong objections to Afghanistan’s diplomat in Islamabad, Sardar Ahmad Shekib, through the additional foreign secretary.
The ministry said that the reference to Jammu and Kashmir as part of India in the joint statement was “a clear violation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions” and disregarded “the legal and internationally recognized disputed status of the territory.”
“The 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,” MOFA said.
Pakistan also strongly rejected the Afghan interim foreign minister’s remarks suggesting that “terrorism was Pakistan’s internal problem.” The foreign office termed the statement misleading and contrary to ground realities.
It emphasized that Islamabad has repeatedly shared credible evidence with Kabul regarding the presence of Fitna-e-Khawarij and Fitna-e-Hindustan, factions identified as Indian-sponsored proxies of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), operating from Afghan soil with external support and conducting cross-border attacks inside Pakistan.
The development comes amid heightened tensions following a deadly terrorist assault on the Police Training School in Dera Ismail Khan on the night of October 10–11. The attack, claimed by elements linked to Fitna al-Khawarij, resulted in the martyrdom of six policemen and injuries to several others. Pakistani security agencies have since reiterated their stance that such groups receive facilitation from across the border.
“It was underscored that deflecting the responsibility of controlling terrorism towards Pakistan cannot absolve the Interim Afghan Government of its obligations to ensure peace and stability in the region,” the statement read.
MOFA further noted that Pakistan has hosted nearly four million Afghans for over four decades out of goodwill and humanitarian concern. With improving conditions in Afghanistan, Islamabad reiterated its stance that unauthorized Afghan nationals residing in Pakistan should return to their homeland, while emphasizing that Pakistan continues to issue medical and study visas on humanitarian grounds.
Reaffirming its commitment to regional peace and cooperation, Pakistan said it remains desirous of a “peaceful, stable, regionally connected, and prosperous Afghanistan.” However, the statement concluded that Islamabad “expects the Interim Afghan Government to take concrete steps to prevent its territory from being used by Fitna-e-Khawarij and Fitna-e-Hindustan terrorist elements against Pakistan.”
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