Islamabad slams Afghan president's tweets in favour of arrested activist as 'interference'

The Foreign Office (FO) on Tuesday expressed “serious concern” after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani tweeted regarding the arrest of activist Manzoor Pashteen, describing Ghani's statement as 'interference' in Pakistan's internal affairs.

The foreign office, in a press release, also dismissed the tweets as “unwarranted”.

“We believe that such statements are not helpful to the promotion of good neighbourly relations between the two countries,” said the FO.

The Afghan president had on Monday expressed 'concern' regarding the arrest of Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) leader Manzoor Pashteen.

"While our region is suffering from atrocities caused by violent extremism and terrorism governments in the region must support and encourage peaceful civilian movements for justice and must avoid any means of force and violence against these movements," said the Afghan president.

However, the FO reminded Kabul that Islamabad seeks to “maintain close and cordial relations with Afghanistan” which are based “non-intervention and non-interference”.

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The FO also urged the Afghan government to work with Pakistan for the common objective of peace and stability in the war-torn country and the region.

Earlier, a local court in Peshawar on Monday had remanded Pashteen to judicial custody for 14-days after reviewing charges of sedition and usage of anti-state language against him. 

Pashteen had been arrested from the Tahkal area of the provincial capital during the early hours of Monday morning.