No evidence of India using Afghanistan soil against Pakistan: US

Alice Wells, US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs, also asserted that it has no information on Afghanistan and India funding the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement.
Alice Wells, Senior Bureau Official in South and Central Asia wing of State Department (File | AP)
Alice Wells, Senior Bureau Official in South and Central Asia wing of State Department (File | AP)

ISLAMABAD: The United States on Tuesday said it has found "no evidence" to suggest that India is using the Afghan soil to perpetrate terrorism in Pakistan.

"I don't have the evidence what you're referring to, but our policy is clear that no country should support non-state actors," the Express Tribune quoted US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs, Alice Wells, as saying. Wells was responding to a question at the US embassy in Islamabad against the backdrop of a narrative put forth by Pakistan, claiming that India is using the Afghan soil to cause trouble in the country.

The American diplomat, who was in Islamabad as part of a delegation headed by US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, also asserted that it has no information regarding Army's latest allegations that Afghan and Indian secret agencies were funding the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM).

On Tuesday, Major General Asif Ghafoor had blamed India's Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) for allegedly funding PTM, a human rights movement of the Pashtun community against Pakistani security establishments for violating their human rights.

Wells urged regional countries to respect each other's sovereignty and work together to achieve peace and economic growth in the region.

"We recognise and respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Pakistan. We do not support any separatist or irredentist movements. We think it's critical that nations of this region respect one another and work to achieve peace and economic growth," she said.

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