Kabuliwala: Now, the Taliban also reject Pak claim that India attacked Afghanistan!
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: On a day India decided to designate any further Pakistani military or terror misadventure as an “act of war,” Afghanistan on Saturday rejected Pakistan’s claims that New Delhi’s missiles targeted even Kabul!
In one voice, Afghanistan and India rejected Pakistan’s claims of Indian missile strikes on Afghan territory, calling them baseless and part of a broader misinformation campaign by Pakistani state agencies controlled by its army.
Inayatullah Khawarizmi, spokesperson for the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense, firmly denied Pakistan’s assertion that Indian missiles struck Afghan soil.
Speaking with Hurriyat Radio, he asserted Pakistan’s claims were baseless. “There is no truth to such claims,” he added.
His remarks came after Pakistani military alleged Indian missile strikes targeting Pakistan also extended into Afghan territory.
Last year, Khawarizmi had asserted the Taliban government’s stance that it did not recognise the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province as part of Pakistan. At the time, the Afghan Ministry of Defence announced it had launched strikes beyond what it referred to as the “hypothetical Durand Line.”
In New Delhi, the Ministry of External Affairs also dismissed Pakistan’s claims, asserting that Afghanistan was well aware of who its allies and adversaries were.
Responding to Pakistan’s false narrative, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri condemned the claims as a coordinated disinformation campaign. “There is this yet again completely ludicrous claim that Indian missiles have hit Afghanistan — totally frivolous allegation and I only want to point out that Afghan people don’t need to be reminded about which country it is that has on multiple occasions in just the last one and a half years targeted civilian populations and civilian infrastructure in Afghanistan.”
These misleading narratives were part of an ongoing effort by Islamabad to strain relations between New Delhi and Kabul. By accusing India of missile strikes inside Afghanistan — without any formal protest from the Afghan side — Pakistan appears to be fuelling diplomatic tensions without basis.
Refuting claims of Indian military losses, Misri declared: “As you have seen, Pakistani claims about activities that they have undertaken continue to be heavy on lies, misinformation and propaganda.” He added that the source of these claims was not unofficial chatter but “peddled by Pakistani state agencies.”
He also dismissed Pakistani reports that Indian Air Force installations in Sirsa, Suratgarh, and Azamgarh had been destroyed. “Claims made by them of destroying various military assets are false,” he asserted, labelling the alleged reports of massive damage as “pure fabrication.”
“India rejects these claims entirely,” Misri said, urging the media and public to remain vigilant against misinformation. “I would urge all of you not to be misled by these lies. Pakistan is peddling these for obvious purposes.”
M Anand Prakash, who recently took over as joint secretary of the Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran division of the External Affairs Ministry, met Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in the Afghan capital on April 28, days after the Pahalgam terror attack. Hafiz Zia Ahmad, deputy spokesperson of the Taliban’s foreign ministry, said on social media that the two sides discussed “recent regional political developments” but didn’t give details.
