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India Today  (19 August 2019)

Afghanistan has raised strong objections to Pakistan trying to link the Kashmir situation with Afghanistan and said that it is "reckless, unwarranted and irresponsible".

In a lengthy statement issued by the US ambassador of Afghanistan, Roya Rahmani, said, "Any such statements that link the evolving situation in Kashmir to the Afghan peace efforts are reckless, unwarranted and irresponsible."

The Afghan diplomat further asserted that Kashmir is a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan and the Imran Khan government's attempts to link the matter with Afghanistan is a deliberate attempt to further instigate violence in the trouble-torn nation.

"The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan strongly questions the assertion made by Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, Asad Majeed Khan, that the ongoing tensions in Kashmir could potentially affect Afghanistan's peace process," Roya Rahmani, the Afghan Ambassador to the US, said on Sunday.

"Any such statements that link the evolving situation in Kashmir to the Afghan peace efforts are reckless, unwarranted and irresponsible," the top Afghan diplomat said in an unusual lengthy statement in Washington.

"It is a poor excuse used by Pakistan to justify its inaction against the Taliban and to avoid taking a decisive stance against the militant group," she asserted.

Rahmani said the assertion by the Pakistani Ambassador that the Kashmir issue could compel Pakistan to reposition its troops from its western frontier with Afghanistan to its eastern border with India is "a misleading statement which inaccurately suggests that Afghanistan poses a threat" to Pakistan.

"There is no threat from Afghanistan to Pakistan. The Afghan government sees no credible reason for Pakistan to maintain tens of thousands of military troops on its western frontier," she said.

"On the contrary, Afghan stability is frequently threatened by Pakistan-based, sanctioned and supported militant and terrorist groups," Rahmani said.

These groups operate openly from Pakistan-governed spaces and regularly spill over into Afghanistan, she alleged.

"Pakistani authorities should address this problem by undertaking a sincere and forceful law and order measure through police actions inside Pakistan," she said.

"There is no threat from Afghanistan to Pakistan. The Afghan government sees no credible reason for Pakistan to maintain tens of thousands of military troops on its western frontier," she said.

"On the contrary, Afghan stability is frequently threatened by Pakistan-based, sanctioned and supported militant and terrorist groups," Rahmani said.

These groups operate openly from Pakistan-governed spaces and regularly spill over into Afghanistan, she alleged.

"Pakistani authorities should address this problem by undertaking a sincere and forceful law and order measure through police actions inside Pakistan," she said.

Rahmani said the statement by her Pakistani counterpart runs contrary to the positive and constructive engagement Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had with Prime Minister Imran Khan and Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa on his recent visit to the country.

https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/reckless-of-pakistan-to-link-kashmir-with-afghanistan-s-peace-process-aghan-diplomat-1582152-2019-08-19