Imran Khan govt cries foul post Afghan NSA-Nawaz Sharif meeting; Pakistan raises RAW bogey

On Saturday, the Imran Khan government expressed strong displeasure over Afghanistan National Security Advisor Hamdullah Mohib's meeting with former Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif in London. Pakistan has stopped official engagement with Mohib when he referred to the country as 'Heera Mandi'- a red light district in Lahore during his public speech in the Nangarhar province in May. Convicted in two corruption cases, Sharif has been residing in London since November 2019 for medical treatment.

A statement issued by Afghanistan's National Security Council on July 23 read, "They agreed that both nations' interests are served by a policy of mutual respect and non-interference in each other's internal affairs. They emphasized that strengthening democracy in both countries can put both nations on a path to stability and prosperity, opening the region to connectivity and commerce. NSA Mohib expressed his support for the democratic struggle in Pakistan, and Former Prime Minister Sharif said a strong and stable Afghanistan is good for Pakistan and the region."

Writing on Twitter, Pakistan NSA Moeed Yusuf remarked, "Afghan NSA has used vitriolic and unacceptable language against Pakistan and our people. The meeting of Kabul regime officials with MNS in UK is an attempt to further poison the atmosphere between the people of two countries. I can see what Mohib and company were trying to achieve. But what is the other side gaining except trying to embarrass his own country? Deplorable". 

Some Pakistan Ministers accused Sharif of 'colluding' with RAW: 

However, PML(N) vice president and the ex-Pakistan PM's daughter Maryam Nawaz Sharif opined, "Pakistan’s peaceful existence with its neighbours is the very foundation of Nawaz Sharif’s ideology for which he has worked tirelessly. It is the very essence of diplomacy to talk to everyone, listen to their point of view, and convey one’s own message across: something this government doesn’t comprehend and hence is a complete failure on the international front". Convicted in two corruption cases, Nawaz Sharif has been residing in London since November 2019 for medical treatment. 

Friction with Afghanistan over Taliban

This controversy comes in the wake of many Afghan officials regularly accusing Pakistan of providing a safe haven to the Taliban top brass. For instance, Afghanistan's First Vice President Amrullah Saleh claimed that the Taliban is guided by Pakistan's special forces from Peshawar and Quetta. As the US military mission in Afghanistan comes to an end on August 31, concerns have grown over the Taliban push back against the elected government in the country.

While the US-led coalition forces had ousted the terrorist organization from power in 2001 following the 9/11 terror attack, it has been gradually regaining territory over the last few years. Though the Taliban had committed to cut ties with foreign terror outfits threatening the security of the US and its allies as per the agreement signed on February 29, 2020, it is believed that Pakistan-based outfits such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed are active in Afghanistan. Recently, Pakistan Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed admitted that the kin of many Taliban terrorists lives in his country.