Prominent Taliban leader Shahabuddin Dilwar, in response to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis statement casting doubt on the sustainability of a new regime in Afghanistan, has said India will soon know that the Taliban can run the country’s affairs smoothly, Pakistan daily Dawn reported.
Dawn said the statement from the Taliban leader came a week after Modi commented on the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, saying “empires created out of terror can dominate for some time, but their existence is never permanent as they cannot suppress humanity forever”.
The Indian premier, in a veiled criticism of the Taliban, had said: “The destroying powers, the thinking that builds an empire on the basis of terror, may dominate for some time in a period of time, but its existence is never permanent, it cannot suppress humanity for a long time.”
Reacting to Modi’s statement in an exclusive conversation with Radio Pakistan correspondent Bilal Khan Mehsud in Kabul on Thursday, Dilwar warned India not to interfere in the internal affairs of Afghanistan.
Dilwar said Pakistan is a neighbour of Afghanistan and a friendly country, as he thanked it for hosting over three million Afghan refugees.
“We are thankful to Pakistan for its services… For the welfare of the refugees,” he added.
Dilwar also underlined that Taliban want peaceful ties with all the countries based on mutual respect.