Pakistan Summons Afghan Envoy Following India-Afghanistan Joint Statement on Regional Security and Kashmir

Afghanistan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held discussions during Muttaqi's six-day diplomatic visit to India that began on Thursday.

Pakistan officially summoned the Afghan ambassador on Saturday to express "strong reservations" regarding the joint statement issued between India and Afghanistan in New Delhi the previous day.

The Pakistani Foreign Office stated that the Additional Foreign Secretary for West Asia and Afghanistan conveyed serious concerns to the Afghan envoy, particularly regarding references made to Jammu and Kashmir in the bilateral statement.

According to Pakistan's Foreign Office, they emphasized that "referring to Jammu and Kashmir as part of India directly contradicts relevant UN Security Council resolutions."

The joint India-Afghanistan statement had included Afghanistan's condemnation of the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir from April, while expressing condolences and solidarity with India. Both nations mutually condemned all terrorist activities originating from regional countries and underlined the importance of fostering peace, stability, and trust in the region.

Pakistan also rejected Muttaqi's assertion characterizing terrorism as Pakistan's internal matter, stating that shifting responsibility for terrorism control onto Pakistan does not relieve the Afghan Interim Government of its obligations to ensure regional peace and stability.

The Foreign Office highlighted Pakistan's four-decade hospitality in hosting nearly four million Afghan nationals. With peace returning to Afghanistan, Pakistan reiterated its position that unauthorized Afghan residents should return to their homeland.

Pakistan defended its right to regulate foreign nationals within its borders, while noting that it continues issuing medical and study visas to Afghan citizens "in the spirit of Islamic brotherhood and good neighborly relations."

The statement emphasized Pakistan's commitment to seeing a peaceful, stable, regionally integrated and prosperous Afghanistan, highlighting its efforts to facilitate trade, economic cooperation, and connectivity between the two nations.

However, Pakistan stressed that it has a responsibility to ensure its citizens' safety and expects the Afghan government to implement "concrete measures" preventing the use of Afghan territory by terrorist elements targeting Pakistan.