India’s Afghanistan moot

National Security Adviser Moeed Yusuf has categorically said that he would not attend an upcoming moot on the Afghanistan issue hosted by India. “I will not go, a spoiler can’t be a peacemaker,” Yusuf said in response to a question by a reporter about whether Pakistan will be attending.

According to Indian media, regional countries including China, Pakistan, Iran, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have been invited to the meeting which is expected to be held in New Delhi on November 10. The invitation was extended to Pakistan’s NSA Moeed Yusuf amid increased tensions in Indian occupied Kashmir.

Relations between Pakistan and India have been strained over the past few years, especially since the Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister. India, as always, has been reluctant to negotiate on outstanding issues and has been instrumental in sabotaging Pakistan’s efforts to bring peace to Afghanistan.

India’s proposal to host an in-person meeting of the National Security Advisors (NSAs) on Afghanistan issue comes at a time when fears were growing in New Delhi that the Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan could ignite the freedom movement in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

Occupied valley’s Sikh and Hindu communities have been targeted in the gun battles in which many soldiers and separatists were also left dead. India has not openly blamed the Taliban takeover for the uptick in violence, but it has intensified patrols near Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and fortified some army camps.

Before the Taliban took over Afghanistan, India carried out intense propaganda against Pakistan along with Afghan intelligence agency and fostered anti-Islamabad operations while using Afghan territory for terrorism. However, after the Taliban took power, India’s involvement in Afghanistan has become very difficult.

India has been directly involved in terrorism in Pakistan, and Islamabad has presented evidence of Indian funding and facilitation to banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militant organizations to the world. The attempt of an Indian submarine to enter Pakistani territory a few days ago also reflects India’s aggressive intentions.

On September 12, Pakistan submitted a 131-page dossier to the United Nations, which contained almost all the evidence that could prove that India had committed war crimes. Islamabad, in the dossier, proved that all the atrocities being perpetrated by India in occupied Kashmir fall under the category of war crimes and India can be prosecuted in this regard.

India’s war crimes, inhumane acts and the promotion of terrorism have a long history, while India has been the biggest obstacle to peace in Afghanistan. The convening of the peace conference on Afghanistan by India can only be an exhibition and Pakistan’s refusal to participate in it is absolutely correct.