Kabul Is New Delhi's Tool: Pakistan Blames India For Failed Peace Talks With Afghanistan

Pakistan's defence minister Khawaja Asif has escalated rhetoric to a level that pushes the Istanbul peace process into a dangerous political theatre, Dawn reported.

Speaking on Geo News, Asif accused Kabul of acting as a conduit for Indian influence and threatened a vastly disproportionate military reprisal should Afghan forces "look at Islamabad." His remarks arrived as a second round of Pakistan-Afghanistan talks in Istanbul faltered, heightening fears that diplomacy may be giving way to brinkmanship.

Asif directly charged that negotiators repeatedly backtracked after contacting Kabul: "Whenever we got close to an agreement-either in the last four days or last week-when negotiators reported to Kabul, then there was intervention and the agreement was withdrawn," Asif outlined, as reported by Dawn. "I believe that the negotiations were sabotaged. We had an agreement, but then they called Kabul and backpedaled from the deal."

Asif then broadened his assault to a geo-strategic narrative familiar in Islamabad's playbook, alleging Kabul was "being controlled by Delhi": "I would compliment their delegation, but the people in Kabul pulling the strings and staging the puppet show are being controlled by Delhi," he added. "India is compensating for its defeat on their western border through Kabul. The junta there (in Afghanistan) has elements that have visited India and visited their temples," Asif claimed. "India wants to engage in a low-intensity war with Pakistan. To achieve this, they are using Kabul."

Kabul has, unsurprisingly, rejected such imputations as "unfounded and illogical," underscoring how rapidly diplomatic space is shrinking

A combustible trigger for the collapse was the revelation - publicly confirmed by Pakistani officials during the talks - of a binding pact that allows third-party drone operations from Pakistani territory. That admission reportedly provoked Afghan outrage and became the sticking point in Istanbul; Afghanistan demanded guarantees that Pakistani territory would not be used to violate Afghan airspace. In short, operational realities (drone access) spilled into the political negotiations and hardened positions on both sides.

Finally, Asif's hyperbolic promise of punitive action - including the now-viral line preserved below - signals a willingness to keep the option of force on the table, which in the current environment is particularly perilous:

"If Afghanistan even looks at Islamabad, we will gouge their eyes out. They can employ the use of terrorists, and they already are. Over the past four years, they have been using terrorists," he said.

"There should be no doubt that Kabul is responsible for the terrorism in Pakistan. Kabul is a tool for Delhi. If they want to, God forbid, attack Islamabad, we will give a befitting response. A response 50 times stronger," the Defence Minister added.