Afghanistan rejects Pak claim of India’s destructive role

KABUL: The Afghan defense officials reacted to allegations of a Pakistani official regarding the alleged destructive role of India, calling it baseless.

General Dawlat Waziri, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, in response to the allegations of the Pakistani official, said that New Delhi had no military presence in Afghanistan, rejecting the misunderstanding of Islamabad claiming that the country was fuelling anti-Pakistan feelings with its presence in Afghanistan. He said India was only providing training and study opportunities to Afghan army cadets. Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif said that the state was serious about improving relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan. 

Speaking to a private news channel, the minister claimed strained relations between the two countries were due to Indian influence on Afghanistan’s side. India has played a major role in the reconstruction of Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban regime and has invested over $2 billion in various reconstruction and infrastructure projects. The construction of the major Salma Dam, the new Afghan parliament building, Zaranj-Delaram highway, and some other projects are among key investments India has made in the country.