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India on Tuesday dismissed Pakistan's criticism of its ties with Afghanistan, saying the remarks reflected Islamabad's "insecurity and frustration" over the positive trajectory of India-Afghanistan relations.
The remarks were made by the Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal during a bi-weekly press briefing here in the national capital. When asked about the recent remarks by the Pakistani Army spokesperson, General Ahmed Chaudhary, where he criticised India-Afghanistan ties via invoking religious verses, advising Kabul to stay away from "non-believers", Jaiswal said, "The spokesperson of Pakistan had made certain comments. Such statements and comments reflect the Pakistani state's insecurity and frustration over the positive trajectory of India-Afghanistan ties." The expression of frustration by Islamabad came after a recently concluded visit by Afghanistan Minister of Agriculture, Mawlawi Attaullah Omari, to India in July. During a press conference in New Delhi, he underlined the strength of ties between India and Afghanistan and said, "I feel like it's my own people as our country, and I feel just like you said, our DNA is one." Jaiswal also answered another media query regarding the recent article by Indian Ambassador to the US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, on the Indus Water Treaty's abeyance. Jaiswal reiterated that the treaty continues to remain in abeyance until Pakistan abjures its support to cross-border terrorism. "This treaty is in abeyance, and it will be in abeyance till such time that Pakistan irrevocably and credibly abjure its support for cross-border terrorism." Indian envoy to the United States Vinay Kwatra said New Delhi's decision to keep the IWT in abeyance "merely acknowledged what Pakistan's conduct had already destroyed" in an article on Sunday. India's decision to hold the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance was a direct response to a deadly terror attack in Pahalgam, while Pakistan's war threats over the water accord are merely an attempt to "distract from its internal problems", Kwatra said in an article published in Newsweek magazine. He affirmed that if Pakistan sincerely wants India's cooperation on bilateral issues, "it must first dismantle the terror infrastructure that it has built." Kwatra said it is worth remembering that the treaty's preamble declares it was concluded "in a spirit of goodwill and friendship." However, "Pakistan spent half a century dismantling that goodwill and friendship. The abeyance merely acknowledges what Pakistan's conduct had already destroyed," the envoy said. (ANI)
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