Kabul cautions Islamabad over Pashtun issue

KABUL: An Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman on Monday called the statement of Pakistani Information Minister Sheikh Rashid saying Pashtuns in Afghanistan were being ignored despite being in majority an interference in Afghanistan’s internal affairs, Pajhwok Afghan News reported.

It said Sheikh Rashid had made the statement on Sunday.

Pajhwok Afghan News quoted spokesman Naveed Maez as saying Sheikh Rashid’s remarks were a direct interference in the internal affairs of Afghanistan.

“‘Such statements will harm relations between both countries’, Maez said, advising Pakistani officials to strengthen relations between both countries,” it reported. It quoted Mohammad Hassan Wolasmal, chief editor of Afghan National Journal, as saying that although Pashtuns had been discriminated against, the issue was an internal problem of Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, a jirga (tribal council) consisting of government officials, tribal elders and clerics in Lashkargah city on Monday condemned foreign involvement in Afghanistan’s internal affairs, Pajhwok Afghan News reported.

“Addressing more than 300 people, Helmand Governor Haji Sher Mohammad Akhonzada alleged that Iran and Pakistan had been interfering in Afghanistan’s internal affairs over the years,” it reported. He was quoted as saying that Pakistan trained the Taliban and sent them into Afghanistan to carry on their killing spree. “He asked for a halt to the interference, saying, ‘Let the Afghans reconstruct their country and restore lasting peace’,” it added. “A former Taliban commander, known as Raees Baghran asked Afghans to promote unity in their ranks to foil the evil designs of foreign elements,” Pajhwok Afghan News said. “Ali Shah Mazloomyar, a tribal elder and candidate for the upcoming parliamentary elections, said Pakistan should stop interfering to avoid further harming Afghanistan,” it reported. daily times monitor

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