Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has challenged the authority of the Afghan government in talks, mentioning that it is now clear that Kabul is getting instructed by someone else.
He wondered how much trust could be enough for assurances given by one party, noting that Pakistan had spent an entire week in talks with the Afghan Taliban.
In an interview with a private media outlet, the defence czar said those who direct Kabul behind the scenes are under foreign control. He stated that since the Taliban took control in Afghanistan, Pakistani children had been martyred in militant attacks.
Khawaja Asif said that India has waged a proxy war through Kabul to make up for its earlier failures.
He cautioned that any aggression towards Islamabad would be countered with decisive action. The defence minister further stated that those who had backed the Taliban in the past should face legal action, whether they are in Pakistan or not.
He voiced optimism that Pakistan could play a role in protecting Palestinians and reassured respect for the newly elected chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Troops in Gaza:
Earlier, the Defence Minister announced that Pakistan is still considering the deployment of troops to Gaza under US President Donald Trump’s peace initiative, which proposes the creation of an international stabilisation force, the private media outlet reported on Tuesday.
“This thing has to be finalised [and] it is in process. The government will take a decision after passing through the process, and I don’t want to preempt it,” he said during an interview on a private TV channel.
