Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Thursday said that India remains committed to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Afghanistan, amid Kabul’s heightened tensions with Pakistan.

Pakistan-Afghanistan ties have deteriorated sharply in recent weeks amid border clashes and mutual accusations. Islamabad has long been warning Kabul against allowing the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to operate from Afghan soil — a claim the Taliban deny. Following a ceasefire, talks in Turkiye began to establish a mechanism to monitor Taliban efforts to curb cross-border attacks, but have so far resulted in an impasse.

At a press briefing, the spokesperson received questions asking why Pakistan was blaming Indian proxy Fitna al Khawarij for terrorist attacks on its soil and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif’s remarks about Kabul fighting a proxy war on behalf of Delhi.

“In my last briefing, I had elaborated our point of view; our thoughts on this particular matter. Pakistan is infuriated with Afghanistan exercising sovereignty over its territories,” Jaiswal replied. “Pakistan seems to think it has the right to practice cross-border terrorism with impunity. Its neighbours find it unacceptable.

“India remains committed to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Afghanistan,” Jaiswal said.

In response to a question about Indian projects in Afghanistan, Jaiswal referred to Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s recent visit to India and the joint statement issued afterwards.

“As part of the visit, we had issued a joint statement between both countries,” the spokesperson said. “This joint statement clearly emphasises that India stands ready to support all efforts of Afghanistan that are directed towards the sustainable management of water resources, including hydroelectric projects.”

Border skirmishes and failed talks

Pakistan and Afghanistan saw a worsening of ties in recent days, which featured border skirmishes, counter-statements and allegations.

The hostilities began earlier this month when an attack was launched on Pakistan from Afghanistan on the night of October 11. The attack had followed an allegation from the Afghan Taliban of airstrikes by Pakistan into Afghanistan — an accusation which Islamabad has neither confirmed nor denied.

For its part, Islamabad has long demanded that the Taliban stop terror groups from using its soil against Pakistan. The Taliban, however, deny the allegation of allowing terrorists to operate from Afghan soil.

Meanwhile, Pakistan continues to grapple with the issue of terrorism and has suffered multiple casualties among security forces in intelligence-based operations.

After the initial skirmish on October 11, multiple others took place along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Meanwhile, strikes by Islamabad also targeted Gul Bahadur group camps in Afghanistan.

Eventually, the two sides came together for dialogue in Doha, which resulted in a temporary ceasefire, as well as a commitment to reconvene in Istanbul to work on mechanisms for lasting peace and stability between the two countries.

Last week, the second round of talks, which were being mediated by Turkiye and Qatar, between the two sides began in the Turkish capital.

But on Wednesday, Tarar announced in a post on X that the latest round of talks between Islamabad and Kabul in Istanbul “failed to bring about any workable solution”. He also asserted that Pakistan would continue to take all possible measures to protect its citizens from terrorism.