KABUL – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) on Saturday summoned asenior official from Pakistani Embassy in Kabul over “new government”remarks by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, the MoFA spokesman SebghatAhmadi confirmed.
He said the Afghan government shared its serious criticism with thePakistani diplomat and has called the remarks “interference in internalaffairs of Afghanistan”.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan summoned the counsellor ofthe Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in Kabul over the recentremarks by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Mr. Imran Khan,” said Ahmadi. “Weshared our serious criticism with Pakistani side. The Afghan governmentconsiders these remarks as clear and evident interference in Afghanistan’sinternal affairs.”
This comes as Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan said Friday that peacein Afghanistan is “around the corner,” referring to the efforts by theUnited States for a political settlement to the conflict in the country.
“Negotiations have been initiated with the Taliban. God willing, ourbrothers in Afghanistan would live together in peace in coming days,” Khantold a big public gathering in northwestern Bajaur tribal district on theAfghan border, according to a report by the VOA.
Without elaborating further, Khan asserted the peace process would resultin stability, trade and economic prosperity for the region, andparticularly for Afghanistan to enable the war-shattered country stand onits own feet, VOA said in the report.
“A good government will be established in Afghanistan, a government whereall Afghans will be represented. The war will end and peace will beestablished there,” Khan said as quoted in the VOA report.
This comes after the US Department of State said on Wednesday that theTaliban in talks with the US negotiators made meaningful progress in Qatartalks.