'India is strong enough to...': Afghan MP-in-exile urges denuclearisation of Pakistan after Kabul strikes

Pakistan bombs Kabul and declares “open war” against Afghanistan’s Taliban government.

• Afghan MP urges India to push for sanctions on Pakistan
• Pakistan launches major airstrikes on Afghan cities, including Kabul
• Tensions rise as Pakistan declares "open war" on Taliban govt

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Mariam Solaimankhil, a member of the Afghan Parliament in exile, on Friday urged India to take a decisive role in holding Pakistan accountable for what she described as decades-long support for terrorism and its nuclear arsenal.

Her remarks, made in an interview with news agency ANI, came as fresh clashes broke out between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with Islamabad declaring “open war” against Kabul’s Taliban government.

Speaking to ANI, Solaimankhil said India should raise Pakistan’s actions on international platforms and push for sanctions.

“India needs to bring this up on an international platform about how Pakistan is extremely dangerous because they have nuclear weapons. How can a country that harboured Osama bin Laden and created dozens of terrorist organisations and has admitted numerous times that they've done all this dirty work still have nuclear weapons? They should be sanctioned; they should be held responsible. They should be denuclearised immediately. And India is strong enough to do that,” she said.

She also criticised Pakistan’s claims of being a victim of terrorism and referred to what she called a “military dictatorship” led by generals in Rawalpindi.

“The gig is up for Pakistan. I think the drapes are pulled, and we can see the full picture. I think everyone knows what they're capable of. What Pakistan likes to do is they like to create troll accounts online, they like to manipulate the media, they like to act as if they won, and they like to show big numbers which are not true. It's not a democracy in that country. It's a dictatorship, a military dictatorship, and we know exactly what it is. Now, some people have made a business out of war, and those people are the generals in Rawalpindi,” she said in the ANI interview.

Pakistan bombed major cities in Afghanistan, including the capital Kabul, on Friday. Pakistan’s defence minister Khawaja Asif declared the countries were at “open war” following months of tit-for-tat clashes.

The operation, codenamed Ghaziabad lil-Haq, marked Pakistan’s most widespread bombardment of Kabul and its first airstrikes on the southern power base of the Taliban authorities since they returned to power in 2021.

According to a report by AFP, a camp accommodating Afghans returning from Pakistan was hit during the overnight fighting.

Pakistan’s latest operation followed an attack by Afghan forces on Pakistani border troops on Thursday night. Afghan forces said the action was in retaliation for earlier air strikes by Islamabad.

Relations between the two countries have deteriorated in recent months. Land border crossings have largely remained shut since fighting in October that killed more than 70 people on both sides.

Islamabad has accused Afghanistan of failing to act against militant groups carrying out attacks in Pakistan, a claim denied by the Taliban government.

Many of the recent attacks have been claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a militant group that has stepped up assaults in Pakistan.

Khawaja Asif posted on X: “Now it is open war between us and you.”