ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Defense Minister con Tuesday blamed New Delhi for a deadlock in Pakistan-Afghanistan peace talks in Istanbul, which have failed to bear results despite four long rounds of negotiations.
Pakistani and Afghan delegations have been holding talks since Saturday in Istanbul after the two countries engaged in the worst fighting in decades, leaving dozens dead and several wounded this month.
Clashes erupted after Pakistan conducted airstrikes near Kabul as it went after Pakistani Taliban militants, which Islamabad alleges operate from sanctuaries in Afghanistan. Kabul denies the allegation.
Speaking about a deadlock in talks, Asif said Pakistan and Afghan negotiators reached at least five verbal agreements in recent talks, but Kabul intervened each time and the deal was delayed.
“The government right now in Kabul, it has been penetrated by India and India has started a proxy war against Pakistan through Kabul,” he told a private news channel, claiming New Delhi wants to “compensate through Kabul for the humiliation it suffered on its western border” in May.
