‘India wants to keep Pakistan busy, engaged in conflict’: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif

Pakistan’s defence minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif alleged on Saturday that India wants to keep Islamabad busy and engaged in conflict on the eastern and western fronts amid the ongoing tensions with Kabul and New Delhi. Asif was referring to the recent clashes with Afghanistan on the country’s western border and the May conflict with India on the eastern border during Operation Sindoor. Pakistan agreed to continue ceasefire with Afghanistan on Friday morning following a rapid deterioration of ties with Kabul. Asif has repeatedly accused Afghanistan of acting “proxy for India”.

“India seeks to keep Pakistan preoccupied on two fronts: the eastern and western,” Asif said, and alleged that Delhi has been “waging a proxy war against Pakistan since the Ashraf Ghani era.” “If necessary, we will present proof,” he told Geo News.

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‘Afghanistan acting as a proxy for India’

Earlier this week, Asif repeated his claim that Afghanistan was acting as a proxy for India and claimed that the Taliban leadership was being manipulated by India.

“The people in Kabul pulling the strings and staging the puppet show are being controlled by Delhi,” he said, according to a report in the Dawn.

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While speaking about the recent clashes with Kabul, he had also warned that India “could play dirty at the border” and went on to assert that Islamabad is even prepared for a “two-front war”.

Violent clashes had erupted on the Afghan-Pakistan border at a time when Taliban foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi was on a visit to India.

‘Terrorism from Afghan soil should completely stop’

Pakistan launched airstrikes on Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan sanctuaries in Afghanistan on Oct 9, triggering border clashes that continued for days before a ceasefire was formalised in Doha on Oct 18-19.

“Everyone is onboard—politicians, the establishment and the nation—that an immediate solution to the Afghanistan issue is very necessary, which is that terrorism from Afghan soil should be completely stopped,” Asif added.

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Asif also expressed optimism that the mediation efforts by Qatar and Turkey on the recent ceasefire with Afghanistan will yield positive results.

A three-point understanding was reached at the second round of negotiations with Afghanistan, including, the continuation of the ceasefire, the establishment of a monitoring and verification mechanism to ensure peace, and penalties for violations.