‘You nourished terrorists and now…’: Ex-Afghan lawmaker blasts Asim Munir after Pakistan attacks kill 8, says Islamabad is scared of India due to…
Pakistan-Taliban war: Pakistan’s policy of nurturing terrorists and using them as weapons in its proxy wars against its neighbours is now coming back to bite them, a former Afghan lawmaker has said amid the recent escalation in border hostilities that killed eight Afghan nationals, including three upcoming local cricketers on late Friday.
What did former Afghan MP say?
In an interview with NDTV, Mariam Solaimankhil, a former member of the Afghan Parliament, lambasted Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir over the raging border conflict between Islamabad and Kabul, describing the Pakistani attacks as “cowardly and barbaric,” holding Pakistan’s powerful military directly responsible for what she described as “systematic terrorism” in the region.
“We are not surprised. This is the same pattern of violence the ISI and the Pakistan Army have unleashed for decades from India to Afghanistan. But to see young cricketers, babies, and mothers being killed, it’s heartbreaking.” the exiled Afghan MP, who lives in the United States, was quoted as saying.
‘You reap what you sow’
Solaimankhil also exposed Islamabad’s accusation against Afghanistan sheltering the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other terror groups, asserting that Pakistan’s military establishment is reaping what it had sown. “You reap what you sow. For decades, you’ve bred terrorists and used them as weapons. Don’t be surprised when the fire you started burns your own home,” she said.
The former lawmaker asserted that the surge in cross-border hostilities was linked to Afghanistan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s visit to India as Pakistan feels threatened with India-Afghanistan relations.
“Whenever Afghanistan moves closer to India, our brotherly, historic partner, it threatens Pakistan’s military establishment. Their entire economy thrives on war and destruction. They cannot tolerate peace between Afghans and Indians,” Mariam claimed.
Why Pakistan feels threatened by India-Afghan ties?
Mariam Solaimankhil called for stronger India-Afghanistan cooperation and urged both countries to unite against “the extremist ideology born in Rawalpindi”, while also hailing New Delhi’s continued support for the people of Afghanistan, notwithstanding political changes.
“Our shared culture and history must defeat Pakistan’s exported extremism,” she said.
The ex Afghan MP alleged that Pakistan’s “propaganda machine full of trolls” is attempting to justify the killing of civilians under the garb of anti-terror operations, noting that Islamabad has not named a single TTP fighter it supposedly targeted. “They say they’re targeting terror camps, but not a single TTP member has been named or shown. What we have are pictures of Afghan babies murdered in cold blood,” she alleged.
She also called for boycotting cricketing ties with Pakistan as “no nation that values human rights should play with a regime that spills our blood and steals our culture”, and called upon world nations to “act before Pakistan’s militarism destroys South Asia’s peace entirely.”
Afghanistan withdraws from T20 tourney after cricketers killed
On Friday night, Pakistan violated its extended ceasefire agreement with Kabul by launching fresh airstrikes in Afghanistan’s Paktika province along the Durand Line. Eight Afghan nationals, including three local cricketers, were killed in the attacks, while eight others sustained grievous injuries, drawing widespread outrage from Afghan expats around the globe.
Following the killings, Afghanistan Cricket Board expressed its deepest sorrow and grief over the incident, and announced that its national cricket team’s withdrawal from an upcoming Tri-Nation T20I Series involving Pakistan, according to an official statement.
“In this heartbreaking incident, three players (Kabeer, Sibghatullah and Haroon), alongside 5 other fellow countrymen from Urgun District, were martyred, and seven others were injured. The players had earlier travelled to Sharana, the capital of Paktika province, to participate in a friendly cricket match. After returning home to Urgun, they were targeted during a gathering,” the statement said.
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