Taliban bluntly tells Pakistan to not link Kashmir issue with Afghanistan

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed said in a statement as quoted by state-run Turkish news service Anadolu Agency: ''Linking the issue of Kashmir with that of Afghanistan by some parties will not aid in improving the crisis at hand because the issue of Afghanistan is not related nor should Afghanistan be turned into the theater of competition between other countries.''

The statement follows an angry reaction by Afghans  on social media following remarks by Pakistan's opposition leader in Parliament on Tuesday, the agency reported.

“What kind of a deal is this that the Afghans enjoy and celebrate peace in Kabul, but in Kashmir, blood is shed? No, this is not acceptable for us,” said Shahbaz Sharif, a leader of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party.

The statement by Taliban is a clear indication of the group's diminishing faith in Pakistan which is helping the United States in holding talks with the Afghan Taliban.

The Turkish agency reported that the Embassy of Pakistan in Kabul on Thursday has clarified that the rift over Kashmir would not affect the peace drive in Afghanistan.

Addressing a news conference, Zahid Nasrullah Khan, ambassador of Pakistan, said: "The issue of Kashmir has nothing to do with the violence in Afghanistan and it is unfortunately still unresolved, despite the so many sacrifices and acts of human rights abuses against the people of Jammu and Kashmir.”

Indian Parliament in a bold decision last week passed the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019 which bifurcated the terror-hit northern state into two Union Territories - J&K, a Union Territory with Legislative Assembly, and Ladakh, a UT without Legislative Assembly.

The Modi government  scrapped Article 35 A and Article 370 which were used to give Jammu and Kashmir a special status.

Article 35A of the Indian Constitution allowed the Jammu and Kashmir state's legislature to define “permanent residents” of the state and also provided special rights and privileges to those permanent residents.

Article 370 allowed Jammu and Kashmir to have its own constitution, flag and right to handle its own laws except on matters that impact national security.

While Pakistan, which had been sponsoring terrorism in Indian Kashmir for decades, hit back by expelling Indian envoy in Islamabad and several bilateral trade ties in a knee-jerk response, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to rid Jammu and Kashmir of terrorism and set in motion a rapid development process.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday addressing the nation on the scrapping of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir said the people of the former state  will have a government chosen by them with a Chief Minister and cabinet like before and it will not be a Union Territory forever. He said once the situation normalizes, Jammu and Kashmir will get back its statehood.