Pakistan Defence Minister says ‘era of old relations with Kabul is over,’ urges all afghans to leave
Islamabad: Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Friday launched a strong rebuke against Afghanistan, declaring that all Afghans living in Pakistan must return home and asserting that the “era of old relations” between the two nations has ended.
“All Afghans residing on Pakistani soil must return to their homeland; they now have their own government, their own caliphate in Kabul. Our land and resources belong to 250 million Pakistanis,” Asif said in a post on social media.
The statement came shortly after a 48-hour ceasefire expired at 6 p.m. local time. Although reports indicated that the truce had been extended and that delegations from both sides were expected to meet in Doha, Taliban officials accused Pakistan of conducting airstrikes in multiple districts of Afghanistan’s Paktika province along the Durand Line. Following the airstrikes, a senior Taliban figure told AFP that the truce had been “broken.”
Asif said Pakistan had shown restraint for years despite repeated provocations but could no longer continue the same approach. “Pakistan can no longer afford to maintain relations with Kabul as it did in the past,” he wrote, adding that Islamabad had sent 836 protest notes and 13 demarches to the Afghan authorities over cross-border terror incidents.
“There will no longer be protest notes or appeals for peace; no delegations will go to Kabul,” he said. “Wherever the source of terrorism lies, it will have to pay a heavy price.”
The minister accused the Taliban regime of acting as a “proxy of India” and conspiring with New Delhi and the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to destabilise the country. “The rulers of Kabul, who are now sitting in India’s lap and conspiring against Pakistan, were once under our protection, hiding on our land,” he alleged.
Asif further claimed that Pakistan has faced 10,347 terrorist attacks resulting in 3,844 deaths, including both civilians and security personnel after Taliban’s return to power in 2021.
The minister warned that any aggression from across the border would be met with a “strong and decisive response.” Earlier this week, he had said that Pakistan was ready to fulfil the Taliban’s “wish for war” if the group sought conflict.
Kabul has consistently denied Islamabad’s allegations, maintaining that Afghan soil is not being used to launch attacks against any neighbouring country.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Sensex, Nifty tumble as Budget proposes to raise Securities Transaction Tax to 0.05 pc on commodity
Mumbai (PTI): Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty tumbled on Sunday afternoon trade after the Budget proposed to raise Securities Transaction Tax to 0.05 per cent on commodity futures from 0.02 per cent.
The government will tax buyback proceeds for all types of shareholders as capital gains, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Sunday.
After fluctuating in early trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex later bounced back but pared all gains amid the Budget presentation.
It later plunged 2,370.36 points, or 2.88 per cent, to slip below the 80,000-mark to 79,899.42 during the afternoon trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty tanked 748.9 points, or 2.95 per cent, to 24,571.75.
From the 30 Sensex firms, Bharat Electronics tanked 6.50 per cent. State Bank of India, HCL Tech, Tata Steel, Asian Paints, and Eternal were also among the laggards.
Sun Pharma, Sun Pharma, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Tata Consultancy Services were the gainers.
"The increase in Securities Transaction Tax (STT), especially in futures and options, is likely to act as a marginal negative for foreign portfolio investor (FPI) flows in the near term, particularly for high-frequency and derivative-focused global funds," Aakash Shah, Technical Research Analyst at Choice Equity Broking, said.
Foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 2,251.37 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
Asian markets are closed on Sunday due to holidays. US markets ended lower on Friday.
On Friday, the Sensex declined 296.59 points, or 0.36 per cent, to settle at 82,269.78. The Nifty dropped 98.25 points, or 0.39 per cent, to end at 25,320.65.
