Afghan govt rejects Russia’s claims

KABUL (Agencies): The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) on Sunday rejected claims made Friday by the Russian defense minister that armed groups from Afghanistan pose a threat to the security of Central Asia.
According to a statement, the IEA said there was no truth in Sergei Shoigu’s comments made during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s meeting of defense ministers on Friday.
“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan not only maintains security and stability in Afghanistan after years of war, but also considers security and stability in the region as a helper with its economy-oriented foreign policy and does not want security threats to exist in any way,” the IEA’s statement read.
The statement added that Russia’s authorities should be aware that, in the last two years, not only has Afghanistan not threatened the security of any country in the region or the world, but “the security forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan have been able to fully and resolutely dispose of the remnants of the terrorist group of Daesh in Afghanistan.”
“The Islamic Emirate, as a responsible government, does not allow anyone to use the territory of Afghanistan against other countries and expects other countries, especially regional countries to stop their citizens who try to go to Afghanistan for destructive events,” the statement read.
The IEA claimed that some recent attacks were in fact carried out by foreign nationals from regional countries.
“Unfortunately, we have to say that some of the recent incidents of insecurity in Afghanistan have been committed by the citizens of some countries in the region,” the statement said.
The statement comes after Shoigu said at the meeting in New Delhi that the existence of some terrorist groups in Afghanistan are the main threat to neighboring countries, especially Central Asia.
Speaking at the meeting, Shoigu noted that the topic of Afghanistan must be kept on the SCO’s agenda.
“At the same time, numerous radical extremist groups entrenched in the territory of Afghanistan pose the main threat, promoting their ideas and efforts in neighboring republics. To our mind, the topic of Afghanistan must be kept on the agenda of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Only comprehensive international and regional assistance can facilitate measures to overcome challenges Afghanistan faces alone,” Shoigu said.
India, which hosted the meeting, asked the members of the SCO to jointly fight against terrorism in the region.
At the end of the meeting, the SCO’s member nations signed a resolution reaffirming their common commitment to promoting regional security, peace, and prosperity.
SCO Defense Ministers’ Meeting was held in New Delhi and was attended by defense ministers of China, Russia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and a number of observer members.