Afghan Foreign Minister summons Pak diplomat over Pak PM's remarks

The Afghan Foreign Ministry summoned on Saturday a senior official from Pakistan's embassy here over Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's statement which has been taken as interference in internal affairs by Kabul.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan summoned the counsellor of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in Kabul over the recent remarks by Pakistan's Prime Minister Mr Imran Khan," Sebghat Ahmadi, the spokesperson of the ministry, said.

"We shared our serious criticism with the Pakistani side. The Afghan government considers these remarks as clear and evident interference in Afghanistan's internal affairs," TOLOnews quoted Ahmadi as saying.

This comes after Khan told a public gathering on Friday that peace was "around the corner" in Afghanistan and a "good government will be established".

"Negotiations have been initiated with the Taliban. God willing, our brothers in Afghanistan would live together in peace in the coming days...A good government will be established in Afghanistan, a government where all Afghans will be represented. The war will end and peace will be established there," the Pakistan Prime Minister said.

US Special Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad recently said that he wrapped up talks with the Taliban in Doha, adding that peace requires an agreement on four issues.

"In this round of talks, we were able to move to an agreement in draft on the first two principles, counter-terrorism assurances and troop withdrawal. And when that agreement in draft is finalized, Taliban and an inclusive Afghan negotiating team that includes the Afghan government and other Afghans will begin intra-Afghan negotiation for a political settlement and a comprehensive ceasefire," the US State Department stated following the talks.