ISLAMABAD: Commenting on the statement made by the Deputy Foreign Minister of Afghanistan, Mr Waheed Abdullah at New Delhi … regarding Afghanistan’s preconditions for talks between himself and the Pakistan Foreign Secretary, a spokesman of the Foreign Office described Mr Waheed Abdullah’s stand as … yet another instance of Afghanistan’s interference in Pakistan’s internal affairs.

Pakistan, the spokesman said, had indicated its readiness of talks … to prepare the ground for a meeting of the two heads of Government … provided no preconditions were set by the Afghan side. Afghanistan’s demand now voiced publicly from New Delhi that first the ban on the National Awami Party be removed was tantamount to dictating to Pakistan in a matter which fell exclusively within Pakistan’s internal affairs. … Action in regard to NAP … had been taken in accordance with the judicial process. … He noted that Afghanistan continued to remain under despotic personal rule and the people … of Afghanistan were denied their fundamental human rights. … The Afghan attitude, he said, negated one of the important principles of peaceful co-existence.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2025