Pakistan voices strong concerns over India-Afghanistan joint statement

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has conveyed its strong reservations to Afghanistan over certain elements of the India-Afghanistan Joint Statement issued on October 10 in New Delhi, the Foreign Office said on Saturday.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sopkesperson, the Additional Foreign Secretary (West Asia & Afghanistan) summoned Afghanistan’s Ambassador to Pakistan to deliver Islamabad’s concerns. It was underscored that the mention of Jammu and Kashmir as part of India in the joint statement is a clear violation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions and contradicts the internationally recognised legal status of the disputed territory.

The statement said the joint declaration was “highly insensitive” to the sacrifices and sentiments of the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) in their legitimate struggle for the right to self-determination.

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Pakistan also rejected the remarks of the Afghan Acting Foreign Minister, who termed terrorism an “internal problem” of Pakistan. Islamabad reiterated that it has repeatedly shared concrete evidence about the presence of terrorist elements—referred to as Fitna-e-Khawarij and Fitna al-Hindustan—operating from Afghan soil against Pakistan with support from elements within Afghanistan.

“Shifting responsibility for curbing terrorism onto Pakistan cannot absolve the Interim Afghan Government of its obligations to ensure peace and stability in the region and beyond,” the Foreign Office maintained.

The ministry further highlighted that, in the spirit of good neighbourliness and Islamic brotherhood, Pakistan has hosted nearly four million Afghan nationals for over four decades. It said that with peace gradually returning to Afghanistan, it is time for unauthorised Afghan nationals residing in Pakistan to return to their homeland.

“Like all other countries, Pakistan has the sovereign right to regulate the presence of foreign nationals within its territory,” the statement added, noting that Islamabad continues to issue medical and study visas to Afghan citizens to meet their humanitarian and educational needs.

Reaffirming its commitment to peace and regional stability, Pakistan said it desires a “peaceful, stable, regionally connected and prosperous Afghanistan,” and has extended trade, economic, and connectivity facilitation to promote socio-economic cooperation between the two nations.

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At the same time, Islamabad underscored its responsibility to safeguard its citizens, calling on the Interim Afghan Government to take concrete steps to prevent its soil from being used by Fitna-e-Khawarij and Fitna al-Hindustan* elements against Pakistan.