Don't link Afghanistan with Kashmir issue: Taliban rebukes Pak

The Taliban on Thursday slammed Pakistan for linking the situation in Afghanistan with the Kashmir issue.

''Linking the issue of Kashmir with that of Afghanistan by some parties will not aid in improving the crisis at hand because the issue of Afghanistan is not related nor should Afghanistan be turned into the theatre of competition between other countries,'' Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahed was quoted by Anadolu News Agency as saying.

The group's reaction came after Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif compared the situation in Afghanistan with that of Kashmir.

"What kind of a deal is this that the Afghans enjoy and celebrate peace in Kabul, but in Kashmir, blood is shed? No, this is not acceptable for us," Sharif said in the Pakistan Parliament earlier this week.

 

The remarks did not go on well with Afghan citizens who voiced their displeasure on social media.

Meanwhile, the Embassy of Pakistan in Kabul stressed that the Kashmir issue between India and Pakistan will not hamper peace efforts in Afghanistan.

"The issue of Kashmir has nothing to do with the violence in Afghanistan and it is unfortunately still unresolved...," Pakistan's Ambassador to Afghanistan Zahid Nasrullah Khan told reporters on Thursday.

Tensions between India and Pakistan spiralled after the Indian Parliament on Tuesday passed a resolution to revoke Article 370 that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir and a bill bifurcating the border state into two Union Territories.

Rattled by New Delhi's decisions, Islamabad "rejected" the move and said it will exercise "all possible options" to counter the steps.

Pakistan on Wednesday decided to downgrade bilateral ties with India and suspend all bilateral trade activities with the neighbouring country in the aftermath of the scrapping of Jammu and Kashmir's special status.

On its part, New Delhi asked Islamabad to review its decision so that normal channels for diplomatic communications are preserved while strictly maintaining that its steps in Jammu and Kashmir are an "entirely internal affair".