Afghanistan Supports India's Surgical Strikes in Pakistan - Ambassador

Afghan Ambassador to India Shaida Mohammed Abdali said that the government of Pakistan was sponsoring terror, adding that "it is time to take bold action."

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Afghanistan supports recent surgical strikes carried out by Indian forces across the border with Pakistan, Afghan Ambassador to India Shaida Mohammed Abdali said on Friday.

On Thursday, the Lt. Gen. Ranbir Singh, India's army director-general of military operations, said that India carried out surgical strikes against suspected positions of terrorists in the disputed areas of Kashmir region under the Pakistani control.

"Pakistan can't stay in a constant state of denial and cannot remain unanswered," the Afghan ambassador was quoted as saying by NDTV.

Abdali said that the government of Pakistan was sponsoring terror, adding that "it is time to take bold action."

Afghanistan is one of four countries to have decided not to participate in the forthcoming South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit in Islamabad. India, Bangladesh and Bhutan have also pulled out of the summit.

The recent escalation of violence across the India-Pakistan border came after 19 Indian soldiers died as a result of the September 18 attack by armed militants on a base outside of Srinagar, the capital of Indian-administerd Kashmir.

Kashmir has been disputed between India and Pakistan since the partition of India in 1947. The two countries have gone through three wars over the region, but the conflict has not been resolved.