External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar spoke to Afghanistan's Acting Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, on Thursday evening, recognizing Kabul's strong denunciation of the Pahalgam terror attack and rejection of efforts to put a strain on India-Afghanistan relations.
Posting on social media website X after the appeal, Jaishankar said, "Good discussion with Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi this evening. Appreciate very much his condemnation of the Pahalgam terrorist attack."
He also welcomed Afghanistan's strong denial of recent disinformation aimed at causing rift between India and Afghanistan. "Welcomed his strong denial of recent efforts to generate distrust between India and Afghanistan by resorting to false and unsubstantiated reports. Emphasized our historic ties with the Afghan people and sustained support for their developmental requirements. Explored ways and means of taking cooperation to newer heights," he further stated.
The conversation followed the city of Kabul's flat refusal to accept Pakistan's claims that India had carried out missile attacks in Afghan land. The assertions, which circulated last week, were condemned as "baseless" by Afghanistan.
Addressing Afghan broadcaster Hurriyat Radio on 10 May, Enaitullah Khawarzmi, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence of Afghanistan, repudiated Islamabad's allegations as being "false and unfounded." His reply was hot on the heels of Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri's rejection of Pakistan's charges.
Misri, while speaking to the media during a special briefing on Operation Sindoor in the presence of Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, described the accusations against India as ridiculous. "There is this yet again entirely absurd suggestion that Indian missiles have struck Afghanistan. Totally frivolous claim," he stated.
Pointing out to Pakistan's behaviors, Misri called upon the Afghans to remember whom it was, in fact, that had damaged their country. "Afghan people do not need to remind themselves about what country is the one which has on several instances, in recent just one and a half years, attacked civilian populations and civilian infrastructure in Afghanistan," he clarified.
The Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs was previously alarmed at increasing hostilities between India and Pakistan, especially after the deadly April 22 Pahalgam terrorist attack that killed 26 civilians.
In a formal statement, Kabul called for diplomatic restraint: "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan expresses concern over the rising tensions between Pakistan and India, regarding further escalation as not being in the interest of the region. Afghanistan reaffirms its conviction that security and stability serve the common interests of all nations in the region. In the meantime, it calls on both sides to exercise restraint and solve their issues through dialogue and diplomacy."
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