On Saturday Intra-Afghan peace talks were initiated in Doha, Qatar after the exchange of war prisoners among Taliban and Afghan military forces.
Event got international attention as Taliban leaders and Afghan government officials were having their first face to face talk.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar represented the Taliban Group, while chairman of Afghan Council For Reconciliation Process Dr. Abdullah Abdullah was appointed as Afghan government representative.
US secretary of state Mike Pompeo is working to provide assistance in peace process to end a 20 years conflict in the region.
After having this Introductory session Mike Pompeo had a memorable picture with Taliban group leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar which was widely shared over the social media platforms.
Some seem to be appraising the historic movement for Taliban while also being criticized by other side.
Pakistan’s Ex Minister and senior leader of PMLN Kwaja Asif shared this picture in a Tweet appraising Taliban leader by giving remarks:
"Powers are yours, but we have God.. Allah Hu Akbar"
Khawaja Asif has been widely criticized for openly supporting the Taliban,
On the other hand this tweet has sparked a new debate as to whether Khwaja sahb is joking or he is not really happy with the Afghan peace process.
طاقتیں تمھاری ھیں اور خدا ھمارا ھے.. اللہ اکبر pic.twitter.com/EhO1sZ3bWx
— Khawaja M. Asif (@KhawajaMAsif) September 13, 2020
Public Reaction
Many users were seen asking, “His party PML-N has not yet distanced itself from this statement nor from Khawaja Asif. This can be taken to mean that this is the official policy of the PMLN.
Many leaders of political parties, including government ministers, also criticized Khawaja Asif.
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Pakistan Peoples Party Senator Farhatullah Babar wrote, “Such a definition of a Taliban killer is incomprehensible.
Glorifying murderous Taliban defies comprehension https://t.co/UxczHupaHl
— Farhatullah Babar (@FarhatullahB) September 13, 2020
Federal Minister Fawad Chaudhry tweeted, “And he was Pakistan’s Defense and Foreign Minister.”
https://twitter.com/fawadchaudhry/status/1305203345284628481
Former Awami National Party activist Bushra Gohar was also seen asking him, “Khawaja Sahib, is there any shame?” Any shame.
Pakistan Awami National Party leader Afrasiab Khattak writes, “Two things need to be clarified.The first is why the Taliban-imposed forces in Afghanistan have been supporting their rule in Pakistan through tanks and bombers.
Secondly, was it justifiable for the Nawaz Sharif government to be overthrown and defeated in the elections through TLP, Milli Muslim League etc.?”
Ali Saduzai writes on social media, “A very irresponsible statement.Afghanistan is in turmoil internally and needs to fix itself, While Pakistan also needs to quickly restore its relations with all Afghans”
“We should be seen as friends of Afghanistan, not the Taliban” he added.
Manzoor Pashtun, the leader of the Pashtun Protection Movement, was seen asking Khawaja, “Whose were the billions of dollars that the state has taken so far?”
Meanwhile, a video of Khawaja Asif’s speech at the Asia Society event in New York in 2017 has gone viral.
“The biggest difference between us and the PTI is that we are very liberal in terms of politics and foreign policy,” he said. While Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is leaning towards religious classes.
In response to this tweet, many users are seen asking Khawaja Asif that if this is the case then why the bases were given to the United States?
Did @KhawajaMAsif say this on a lighter note or he is not happy with the Afghan reconciliation process? What do #you think? https://t.co/sXRIGGLoys
— talabatehreek (@talabatehreek) September 13, 2020
Writer and poet Atif Tauqeer says, “Khwaja Sahib also believe that God is with the Taliban and they also believe that The Taliban government should be in Afghanistan only and not in Pakistan.
Najib Nangyal from Afghanistan writes, “The former Pakistani defense minister described the picture as a US defeat. Is this the end of relations between Pakistan and the United States? Is there anything left to trust? ‘
“The time has come to expose the true face of Pakistan and to severely punish those who sponsor open terrorism,” he added. Duplicity should no longer be tolerated.
On this occasion, many users were seen asking who Khawaja Sahib was trying to please.
While many other users also seemed to remind him that “Mullah Baradar was imprisoned in Pakistan during the PML-N government and Khawaja Sahib was the Defense Minister at that time.”
While most people are criticizing Khawaja Asif, many tweets also appeared in his support.
Soni Rana says, “I am a big opponent of PML-N but today Khawaja Asif has won my heart by writing this.”
خواجہ آصف نے افغان طالبان کی حمایت میں ایک ٹویٹ کیا کر دی، مسلکی بغض کو دل میں بسائے اور لبرل ازم کو چہرے پہ سجائے ہمارے دانشور ان کے پیچھے ہی پڑ گئے!
کیا اپنی آزادی کے لیے دو دہائیوں سے جنگ لڑنے والے غیور افغان طالبان اور دشمن کے پیسے پہ پلتے TTP کے طالبان برابر ہیں؟— احمد حمّاد (@iamhammad) September 14, 2020
A user named Qaiser Niazi writes, “Khawaja Asif has spoken the truth. This is the official policy of all Muslims.
