ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Monday rejected as “irresponsible and baseless” the recently levelled allegations by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and warned that such statements could undermine mutual trust.

“Pakistan has conveyed its serious concerns to the Afghan side by making a strong demarche with the Ambassador of Afghanistan in Islamabad on the recent irresponsible statements and baseless allegations made by the Afghan leadership,” the FO said in a statement.

President Ghani had in an interview to German magazine Der Spiegel alleged that Pakistan operates an organised system of support for the Taliban insurgents, who receive logistics and financial support from there, besides carrying out recruitment.

Mr Ghani had further alleged that there was a deep relationship between the Taliban and the Pakistani state and attempted to back his assertion by claiming that various decision-making bodies of the Taliban were named after Pakistani cities like Quetta Shura, Miramshah Shura and Peshawar Shura, where they were supposedly based.

The Afghan president said that Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, who visited him last week, had assured him that the restoration of the Taliban Emirate was not in Pakistan’s interest. But at the same time, he allegedly quoted the army chief to have told him that some of the lower levels in the army still held the opposite opinion.

Responding to the claims made by President Ghani, the FO said: “Pakistan has emphasised that groundless accusations erode trust and vitiate the environment between the two brotherly countries and disregard constructive role being played by Pakistan in facilitating the Afghan peace process.”

The Afghan side, the FO said, has been urged to effectively utilise the available forums like Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity to address all bilateral issues.

Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2021

Opinion

Editorial

Out of control
Updated 19 Feb, 2025

Out of control

AS bodies continue to fall in Kurram despite a state-sanctioned ceasefire, one wonders how long local militants’...
Hollow words
19 Feb, 2025

Hollow words

IT is not uncommon for politicians to resort to the use of hyperbole in order to boost their public standing. ...
Migration matters
19 Feb, 2025

Migration matters

THE grass, it seems, did appear greener on the other side to millions of people as evidenced by the latest UN ...
Cholistan project
Updated 18 Feb, 2025

Cholistan project

GPI goals align with Pakistan's broader economic aims but the manner in which the initiative was launched raises questions.
Right to know
18 Feb, 2025

Right to know

IT is an unfortunate paradox that while on paper Pakistan has some of the most impressive right to information laws,...
Dam dispute
18 Feb, 2025

Dam dispute

THE situation in Chilas needs attention and a fair-minded approach so that it can be resolved amicably. Diamer ...