Islamabad, Pakistan – On October 28 after negotiators from Pakistan and Afghanistan hit a wall in talks to extend their fragile ceasefire after deadly border clashes, Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif blamed a third country that wasn’t even present during the dialogue: India.

In a television interview, Asif claimed that India had “penetrated” the Afghan Taliban leadership. That, he insisted, was the reason for the escalation in tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

He complimented the Taliban leadership at the talks in Istanbul. “But the people in Kabul pulling the strings and staging the puppet show are being controlled by Delhi,” Asif charged. “India wants to engage in a low-intensity war with Pakistan. To achieve this, they are using Kabul.”

The defence minister present

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