‘India should refrain from using Afghan soil against Pakistan’: Hekmatyar

“India should refrain from using the Afghan soil against Pakistan to take revenge for Kashmiris’ struggle in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir,” said former prime minister of Afghanistan and Hezb-e-Islami chief Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.

In an exclusive interview with Radio Pakistan’s Special Correspondent Bilal Mehsud in Kabul on Sunday, Hekmatyar said that India should focus on its internal issues instead of issuing statements about the future of Afghanistan.

Hekmatyar said an inclusive government comprising all the other political groups was the need of the hour. “Such a government could stop further bloodshed in Afghanistan and steer the war-ravaged country out of the present crisis.”

Hekmatyar also praised Prime Minister Imran Khan’s long-term stance on peace and a negotiated settlement of the Afghan issue. He said he hoped there would soon be a government in Kabul, which would be acceptable to the Afghan people and the international community.

“The Afghans have grown tired of the long conflict and fighting and now they want to bring peace and stability to their war-torn country and collectively work for its reconstruction and progress,” said Hekmatyar.

Hekmatyar further added, “Our enemy can cast a negative impact on the Afghan peace process but the United States (US) and other forces had no right to interfere in the Afghanistan issue. It is the sole prerogative of the Afghan people to decide about their future.”

India should refrain from using Afghan soil against Pakistan to take revenge for Kashmiris' freedom struggle in IIOJ&K. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar further commends PM @ImranKhanPTI's longstanding stance regarding peace in Afghanistan@fawadchaudhry https://t.co/6ZUpAMzb0e pic.twitter.com/WBOgcvi9Vj

— Radio Pakistan (@RadioPakistan) August 22, 2021

However, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that Pakistan has no objection to India and Afghanistan developing cordial relations, further clarifying that Islamabad was not focusing on any one particular group in Afghanistan, reported Geo News.