Pakistan accused of violating Afghanistan’s sovereignty

February 19, 2019 - 10:2

TEHRAN _ Afghan government led by President Ashraf Ghani has expressed strong reservations over Pakistan hosting talks between the Afghan Taliban delegation and the U.S. officials.

Afghanistan accuses Pakistan of providing sanctuary to terrorist groups that carry out attacks in Afghanistan, most notably Haqqani Network.

Ashraf Ghani government has lodged a strong complaint with the UN Security Council against Pakistan for its role in recent months in facilitating Taliban negotiations, alleging that the process is a violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty.

A strongly-worded complaint was lodged by the Afghan permanent mission in New York with UN Security Council, according to a report in Economic Times.

“These engagements, which are taking place under the pretext of support for peace efforts in Afghanistan, are void of any degree of coordination and consultation with the Government of Afghanistan," reads the letter, dated Feb 15.

Afghan government seeks to engage with the Taliban leadership directly in Afghan-led and Afghan-owned negotiations. However, in recent months, U.S. has been unilaterally holding talks with the insurgent group, sidelining the elected government in Kabul.

Referring to the Pak move to invite Taliban delegation to meet PM Imran Khan, the Afghan government in its letter regretted that this amounts to official "recognition and legitimization of an armed group that poses serious threat to security and stability of Afghanistan".

The letter further alleged that members of the group are sanctioned by the UN Security Council 1988 Committe's Sanctions Regime.

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