Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani said he will join the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) only if Islamabad allows connectivity between India and Afghanistan.
Mentioning sovereignty issue raised by India, Ghani also warned that if Afghanistan was not given transit access to Wagah and Attari for trade with India via Pakistan, then Kabul will also restrict Islamabad's access to central Asia.
According to Live Mint, Ghani also rejected what he termed a “Pakistan-managed” effort to broker peace in Afghanistan. This comes just a week after talks between Pakistan, the US, China and Afghanistan in Oman which were aimed at getting the Taliban to the peace talks tables.
"Sanctuaries are provided, logistics are provided, training is provided, ideological base is provided... Pakistan has come to a juncture and it needs to make a choice," he said while delivering an address at Vivekananda International Foundation, attended by a select gathering of a number of foreign envoys, former diplomats and strategic affairs experts on Tuesday.
He asserted: "Our reaction will be determined by its choices."
Hailing India's role in Afghanistan, he said the new US policy was an important tribute to the importance of New Delhi in bringing peace and stability to the region, hit by the spectre of terror.
Identifying terrorism as a major challenge facing the region, Ghani, in a clear reference to Pakistan, said unfettered support is being provided to the terror groups which are destabilising the entire region.
Talking about the peace process, Ghani suggested that he does not ignore India's role in bringing peace and stability to the war-ravaged country. He said the next round of Kabul process will be held in January next year.
He said the South Asia strategy announced by the Trump administration was a "game changer" as it recommends multi- dimensional condition-based approach for the region.
"It (the strategy) singled out India for engagement in this approach," he said.
The Afghan president also rejected suspicion in Islamabad that India and Afghanistan have joined hands against Pakistan.
"There is no secret agreement between Afghanistan and India. There are no secret Indian facilities. There is no destabilisation of any neighbours from Afghanistan taking place through implicit or explicit collusion. Let's get out of the word of fiction," he said.
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(With PTI inputs)
