NEW YORK: Keeping its tradition, India upbraided Pakistan both in Washington and at the United Nations as Prime Minister Imran Khan appealed to the world to work with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised concerns about Pakistan during talks with US President Joe Biden Friday (Saturday morning in Pakistan) as well as a broader four-way summit with the leaders of Australia and Japan, according to Indian officials.
“There was a clear sense that a more careful look and a more careful examination and monitoring of Pakistan’s role in Afghanistan — Pakistan’s role on the issue of terrorism — had to be kept,” Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla told reporters after the White House talks.
Khan, addressing the UN General Assembly, said that the Taliban have promised to respect rights and build an inclusive government since taking over last month, despite global disappointment in a caretaker cabinet.
“If the world community incentivises them, and encourages them to walk this talk, it will be a win-win situation for everyone,” Khan said. “We must strengthen and stabilise the current government, for the sake of the people of Afghanistan.”
The Quad will keep track of the “important point which sometimes gets overlooked when you see Pakistan projecting itself as a facilitator whereas it has really been in many senses an instigator of some of the problems in our neighbourhood and beyond,” he said.
India was one of the most enthusiastic backers of the pro-Western government in Afghanistan that collapsed last month as Biden withdrew US troops deployed for 20 years.
Pakistan was the top backer of the 1996-2001 Taliban regime that imposed an ultra-austere interpretation of Islam and welcomed Al-Qaeda, triggering the US invasion after the September 11 attacks.
Pakistan quickly backed the United States, its Cold War ally, in the war but US officials have long accused Islamabad’s intelligence services of maintaining support for the Taliban — in part due to Pakistan’s concerns over Indian influence in Afghanistan.
The United States, however, has publicly welcomed Pakistan’s efforts including its help bringing the Taliban into ultimately unsuccessful talks with the fallen Afghan government.
On the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken thanked Pakistan for helping US citizens leave Afghanistan. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi promised to work to “achieve our common objective.”
Modi’s Hindu nationalist government has had tense relations with Pakistan.
