Hinting at India, Pak asks 'external actors' to not interfere in Afghanistan's internal matters

Pakistan has reportedly stressed on the need to forge a regional consensus among the "external actors" to follow a policy of non-interference in Afghanistan's internal matters, fearing that its territory may be used to wage a proxy-war, especially by India, in the post-U.S. withdrawal period.

While addressing a conference at the National Defence University on Wednesday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Advisor on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz warned against repeating "the mistakes of the past" at a time when the "precious moment of hope and optimism in Afghanistan must be defended," reported the Dawn.

He emphasized on the role of the international community and added it was a major imperative as "another abandonment of Afghanistan would lead to a repeat of the 1990s."

Pakistan is increasingly concerned that India's rising influence in Afghanistan may prove to be "detrimental" to its interests in the region.

Also, there are concerns that Pakistan and India could wage a proxy war in Afghanistan once the U.S. troops withdraw from the war-torn country.

Aziz stressed that new Afghan government must be given continuous economic and financial support for economic revival and for delivering on its reform agenda.

Remarking that Sharif's idea of "peace for development" was the defining principle of Pakistan's foreign policy, he observed that the vision of peaceful neighbourhood could not be realized without bringing about a "qualitative transformation" in the nation's relationships with Afghanistan, India and Iran.

Aziz said that while relations with Iran and Afghanistan had improved considerably, relations with India continued to be strained as India has not reciprocated Pakistan's "outreach."

He added, "cancellation of foreign secretary-level talks by India on the pretext of our High Commissioner's meeting with Kashmiri leaders was found unconvincing worldwide."

Aziz also cautioned India against "unilaterally" altering the status of Kashmir by saying that it would further compound the already complicated situation.