India slams Pakistan for blaming neighbours for its failures, backs Afghanistan

Amid border clashes between Afghanistan and Pakistan, India said it's Pakistan's long-standing practice to blame neighbours for its internal failures.

The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India remains fully committed to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Afghanistan. India said it was closely monitoring the situation as Pakistan and Afghanistan reached a ceasefire on Wednesday.

He said pointed out that Pakistan continues to host terrorist organisations and is angered by Afghanistan exercising sovereignty over its own territory. Jaiswal added that India's technical mission in Kabul will be transitioned into a full-fledged embassy in the coming days.

This comes after Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif alleged that Afghanistan was "fighting a proxy war" on behalf of India.

Khawaja Asif, while speaking to Geo TV, said Trump is "most welcome" to look into the war between Pakistan and Afghanistan. "I think presidents in America have been responsible for wars. This is the first president (Trump) who has stopped wars. In the last 15-20 years, the US has sponsored wars, and he (Trump) is the first president to negotiate peace," the Pakistani minister said.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sherif on Thursday said if Kabul wants to talk, Islamabad is ready. "The ball is in their court," he said.

The Pakistani military on Thursday said 34 terrorists of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as Fitna al-Khawarij, were killed by its security forces in multiple intelligence-based operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's North Waziristan, South Waziristan and Bannu districts.

Meanwhile, the United Nations on Thursday urged Pakistan and Afghanistan to end hostilities and protect civilians after dozens of people were in both countries. Welcoming the ceasefire, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said it was still assessing the number of casualties.