ISLAMABAD: Pakistan “must accept” the will of the people of Afghanistan and refrain from “imposing its decisions” on them, declared Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz vice president Wednesday, a day after the Taliban announced the formation of an interim setup to govern the country ravaged by decades of wars and insurgency.
While Maryam Nawaz did not elaborate further, many believe she took the cue from her father, deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who landed himself in hot waters in July following a meeting with former Afghanistan National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib at the latter’s residence in London.
In May, Islamabad stopped conducting official business with Mohib after his “abusive outburst” against Islamabad wherein he had referred to Pakistan as Heera Mandi, a notorious red light district in Lahore.
Denouncing the meeting, the government had said sending Sharif abroad was “dangerous because such people become a part of international plots”, noting that his meeting “RAW’s [Research and Analysis Wing] biggest ally in Afghanistan” was a case in point.
Former president Ashraf Ghani and members of his cabinet, including Mohib, fled the country after Kabul, the last remaining Afghanistan city, fell to the Taliban on August 16.
Afghanistan’s new rulers Tuesday announced key posts for their new interim government on Tuesday, appointing Mohammad Hassan Akhund as the prime minister while group co-founder Abdul Ghani Baradar will be his deputy.
While Pakistan is yet to comment on the formation of the government, Islamabad is hosting today a key virtual meeting of Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries to discuss the situation in the country ravaged by decades of war and internal rifts.
Nawaz, when asked whether Islamabad should recognise the new government, said Afghanistan was a sovereign country, insisting Pakistan “must not interfere” in her internal affairs.
Interestingly, the group itself rejected the rumours Pakistan was interfering in the internal affairs of Afghanistan, saying it “acted with complete freedom”.
“This is a rumour that has been spread about for 20 years […] we don’t allow [foreign] interference,” Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told a news conference Tuesday.
Nawaz, however, urged the government to collaborate with the international community for rehabilitating people and rebuilding infrastructure in that country.
On the domestic political front, she accused the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government of suppressing its rival parties and said “the game of targeting your [political] opponents” has to stop at some point in time.
Nawaz also hinted at filing a new petition in connection with the Avenfield reference, which she claimed will expose “actual grounds” of the case.
In 2018, Maryam was given seven years for abetment after she was found “instrumental in concealment of the properties [Avenfield House apartments in London] of her father” and one year for non-cooperation with the National Accountability Bureau.
Refusing to divulge details of the prospective petition, she said her counsel was preparing the request which would be substantial in proceeding with the case.
