AT News
KABUL: Some Afghan figures reacted to a tweet by Pakistan’s former defense minister Khwaja Mohammad Asif.
Asif posted the pictures of US secretary of state and Taliban’s leader Mullah Baradar on Twitter, writing in Urdu that: “You guys have power and we have God”, following another tweet reads “God is Great”.
Rahmatullah Nabil, former intelligence chief, wrote in response to Asif: “Dear Khwaja! God is not in your rent, but you people are renting wildness, killing and looting.”
Meanwhile, Tamim Aasi, head of the Institute of War and Peace Reporting, said that Asif’s tweet is evidence that proves Pakistan uses Taliban as proxy in the war in Afghanistan.
“Khwaja Asif is very close to Pakistani army. His tweet is a document that indicates Pakistan using Taliban as a proxy and leads them in the Afghan war. Separately, Pakistan is not honest in its deal with the US over the Afghan peace and messages indirectly through its former officials that it has defeated Washington in Afghanistan by its proxies.”
Kabul has repeatedly accused Islamabad of supporting Taliban and of not being honest in the peace negotiations.
Khaled Sadat, analyst in international relations said that Aisf’s tweet shows Pakistan still supports Taliban.
“He (Asif) is now a retired official but was previously a defense minister in Pakistan. He is bullying today and explains Pakistan’s rule. The government of Afghanistan needs to ask Islamabad about the tweet in such sensitive time. Kabul can also complain to the UN Security Council.”
Afghan officials did not immediately comment on the tweet, but Kabul had previously criticized Islamabad for playing a dual game in Afghanistan issues, an allegation denied by Pakistan.