India, Afghanistan criticise Pakistan for terror support

The leaders of India and Afghanistan on Sunday urged countries in their region to stop supporting armed militants. Delegations from more than a dozen countries including Pakistan, China, Russia, Turkey and Iran attended the conference in the northern Indian city of Amritsar on Sunday s part of the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process initiative to promote Afghan peace efforts. Without naming Pakistan, both Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani urged their neighbour to stop offering shelter and support to militants who commit violence in the region. Ghani and Modi have separately accused Pakistan of supporting the Taliban in Afghanistan and rebels in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani accused Pakistan Sunday of waging an “undeclared war” and said Taliban insurgents battling his government would not last a month without sanctuary in the neighbouring state. Ghani also urged Pakistan to spend around $500m pledged in aid for Afghanistan to tackle extremism instead. The Taliban were toppled from power by a US-led invasion in 2001 and have battled the Kabul government and its foreign allies since then. Afghan officials accuse Pakistan of supporting the Taliban and continuing to provide sanctuaries on its soil in hopes of maintaining influence in Afghanistan. They discussed challenges to the long-term growth and stability of the war-torn country. India, the fifth largest bilateral donor to Afghanistan, has been a key supporter of Kabul’s government and has poured more than $2bn into the country since the Taliban were toppled. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday promised his country’s support for peace while also indirectly criticising Pakistan’s role in the region. “Terrorism and externally-induced instability pose the gravest threat to Afghanistan’s peace, stability and prosperity,” he said. “It (support for peace) must be backed by resolute action. Not just against forces of terrorism, but also against those who support, shelter, train and finance them,” Modi added, hinting at Pakistan. Both the Indian and Afghan leaders in recent months have vocally blamed Pakistan for its support for groups and individuals behind attacks in their countries. Pakistan -- the historic backer of the Taliban -- has long been accused of supporting the insurgents in Afghanistan, especially with attacks on Indian targets in the country. Last December Modi inaugurated Afghanistan’s new parliament complex in Kabul, built by India at an estimated cost of $90 million. A few days after his visit militants launched a 25-hour gun and bomb siege near the Indian consulate in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif. And in March Taliban militants fired a barrage of rockets at the parliament complex.