Leader of Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party Mehmood Khan Achakzai has revealed that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had asked him to go to Kabul as his special emissary last month in the wake of credible information that the Afghan government was “likely to take some action against Pakistan”.
On June 19, the Foreign Ministry confirmed Achakzai’s Kabul sojourn amid speculation that the PkMAP leader was seeking Mullah Fazlullah’s extradition and eliciting Afghan cooperation in Operation Zarb-e-Azb.
However, in an interview with BBC Pashto on Saturday, Achakzai said, “The government received intelligence from very credible sources that Kabul is planning something against Pakistan.” He added, “The Pakistani leadership insisted that they do not want any misunderstanding or a dangerous situation between the two friendly countries.”
Achakzai said the government asked him to discuss the issue with President Hamid Karzai and the foreign secretary accompanied him on the trip. Achakzai had two meetings with the Afghan president, and the Pakistani foreign secretary and close aides to President Karzai were present at one meeting.
Achakzai did not discuss Karzai’s reaction to Pakistan’s concerns. Pakistan had shared the information of a possible ‘plan’ with ambassadors of the US, China and other countries, he added.
Achakzai said Kabul is mulling a response to the alleged cross-border attack by Pakistani forces that left three Afghan National Army soldiers dead in Kunar in June. President Karzai reportedly instructed his security forces to prepare for a response to the attacks, according to a statement issued in Kabul last month.