Pakistan rejects claims it’s helping the US push for regime change in Afghanistan - Assalamualaikum
Assalamualaikum. ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Monday called claims from Kabul that Pakistan is working for the United States to bring about regime change in Afghanistan “total nonsense.”
The comments follow a week of deadly clashes along the shared border - the worst since the Taliban took control of Kabul in 2021 - that left dozens dead and hundreds wounded. The two sides agreed to a ceasefire in Doha on Sunday and are set to meet again on Oct. 25 in Istanbul for more talks.
The fighting on the ground and Pakistani airstrikes along their disputed 2,600-km frontier began after Islamabad urged Kabul to curb militants who have increased attacks in Pakistan and allegedly use Afghan sanctuaries. Kabul denies those accusations.
“I don’t want to use any strong word for that, but it’s total nonsense and nothing else. Why would we? We have enough involvement in Afghan affairs,” Asif told reporters when asked about Kabul’s claim that Pakistan was facilitating a US-backed effort in Afghanistan. “For the last four or five decades we have had enough. We want to stay away and live like decent neighbors.”
Asif also dismissed suggestions that Washington wants to topple the Taliban government, noting that the movement already keeps diplomatic ties with the United States. “If they think the US is trying to bring regime change over there, in my humble opinion, they have a comfortable relationship with the United States,” he said.
Pakistan has long accused India of working with Afghanistan to support the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militants against Pakistan - an allegation India denies. Tensions rose further when Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi visited India and New Delhi upgraded ties with Kabul, a move Islamabad watched closely.
Asif said Pakistan has no problem with Afghanistan building relations with other countries, including India, so long as those ties don’t threaten Pakistan’s security. “They can have a relationship with India or any other country, we have no business with that. Whatever they do in their own territory, it doesn’t become our business as long as it doesn’t spill over to our side,” he said.
On recent talks with the Taliban in Doha, Asif said a new understanding was reached where Türkiye and Qatar would act as guarantors to ensure the banned TTP no longer operates from Afghan soil. “They [Kabul] know very well that TTP is operating from their territory and off the record they admit it. In the past, they have even discussed relocating them somewhere else far from our border,” he said.
He added that everything depends on the agreement’s key clause: the TTP should not be allowed to operate from Afghanistan. The two sides will meet in Istanbul to finalize a monitoring mechanism for that arrangement.
Asif also said the Taliban’s main request in Doha was that any repatriation of Afghan refugees be handled with dignity and honor. “They just politely asked that the repatriation of Afghan refugees should be in an honorable manner. They did not say don’t repatriate them, it’s part of the agreement, and we will facilitate it with dignity.”
He was referring to Pakistan’s intensified deportation campaign against undocumented foreigners, which has led to more than 800,000 Afghans being sent home since 2023. “They were our guests or whatever you can call them for many, many years. If they are going home, we wish them luck,” Asif said. “That is their soil. We wish them, we pray for them that they have good life under the present regime over there and that Afghanistan has stability and economic well-being.”
JazakAllahu khair for reading.
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