Afghan National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib and State Minister for Peace Sayed Sadat Naderi met former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in London and discussed “matters of mutual interest”.
The National Security Council of Afghanistan (NSCA) gave an update about the meeting on Twitter on Saturday, saying that the Afghan state minister for peace and NSA discussed “matters of mutual interest” with the former Pakistan prime minister.
The officials on both sides agreed that they would both benefit from the “policy of mutual respect and non-interference in each other’s internal affairs,” the NSCA was quoted as saying by Indian news agency ANI.
They also noted that “strengthening democracy” will put both neighbours on the path towards stability and prosperity.
Soon after the news of the meeting broke, government representatives took to Twitter to condemn the move.
ASAD UMAR: Minister for Planning Asad Umar reminded that Mohib was the man who had recently likened Pakistan to a brothel.
“It seems that Nawaz is intent on seeking revenge from his own country,” Umar said.
“May Allah keep us safe from all such evil intent,” he added.
SHIREEN MAZARI: Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari heaped scorn on the PML-N leader on the idea of “matters of mutual interest” being discussed during the meeting.
“Seriously? After Mohib referred to Pakistan — not the PTI government, but our country — as a ‘brothel’, common RAW interest can only be to attack Pakistan,” she wrote.
“Such shameless self-interest of Sharif to preserve looted wealth and country be damned,” Mazari remarked, adding that Maryam’s retweet of the NSC Afghanistan post is tantamount to “support”.
FAWAD CHAUDHRY: Federal Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry reacted strongly to the meeting.
In a statement on Twitter, Fawad said that sending Nawaz out of Pakistan was dangerous because such people become accomplices in international conspiracies.
He said that Nawaz’s meeting with Mohib, the biggest ally of RAW in Afghanistan, is an example of such an operation.
Chaudhry said that Modi, Mohib or [Afghanistan vice president] Amrullah Saleh, every enemy of Pakistan, is a close friend of Nawaz Sharif.
SHAHBAZ GILL: Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Political Communication Dr Shahbaz Gill, too, slammed the former prime minister for meeting the Afghan NSA in London.
In a statement, Dr Gill said that the meeting and “keen interest” with a person who has vilified and abused Pakistan shows the former prime minister’s agenda. He claimed that the Afghan official brought a message from Indian Prime Minister.
He added that the upcoming elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) will be shown as controversial so that the elections in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir could be shown under the same circumstances.
MARYAM NAWAZ: PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz, responding to the criticism, said that she doesn’t think the PTI government can “comprehend” the “essence of diplomacy”.
“Pakistan’s peaceful existence with its neighbours is the very foundation of Nawaz Sharif’s ideology for which he has worked tirelessly,” Maryam wrote on Twitter.
“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,” said Maryam.
