- August 2, 2026
Muslims Shouldn’t Befriend Kaafirs: Pakistan Army’s Reaction To India-Afghanistan Ties Spark Row | Exclusive
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According to top intelligence sources, the comments are being interpreted as part of a broader attempt to shift focus from Pakistan’s internal security challenges
Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry
Pakistan Army’s Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR), Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, has sparked controversy with his remarks during an official press conference in Rawalpindi, while responding to recent comments by an Afghan Taliban minister on India-Afghanistan ties.
The Afghan minister, during a visit to India, had reportedly remarked that Afghanistan and India “share the same DNA” and spoke of a sense of historical and cultural closeness between the two countries. Responding to the statement, Chaudhry referred to a Quranic verse stating that Muslims should not befriend kafirs.
He invoked the verse in the context of the Afghan minister’s remarks, arguing that those who profess such affinity with India and Hindus raise questions, in his interpretation, about adherence to Islamic principles. Chaudhry distinguished between the Afghan people and the Taliban administration, while alleging that the comments reflected ideological closeness with India, which Pakistan has repeatedly accused of sponsoring terrorism against it. India has consistently rejected those allegations.
The remarks came during a wider briefing on counter-terrorism, Balochistan, Pakistan-Afghanistan relations, and Pakistan’s allegations of Indian involvement in militant activities. However, the Quranic reference and the discussion surrounding the “DNA” remarks gained significant traction on social media as a separate clip.
WHAT DID SHARIF CHAUDHRY SAY
“We are thankful that they have said it. And I am not talking about the Afghan people; I am talking about the Afghan Taliban regime. We have to be very careful in understanding whose DNA is actually the same. The DNA is not the same as that of the ordinary Afghan people. The common Afghan people are being crushed under the oppression of this Taliban regime. Their DNA is not the same as theirs,” he said.
“Does this regime have any conduct that reflects Islamic values? What they do to women, what they do to children, issuing fatwas while sitting comfortably and declaring the blood of any Muslim permissible — what connection does this have with Islam? It has no connection with Islam whatsoever,” Chaudhry said.
“Allah Almighty has made it very clear: do not take the disbelievers (kafirs) as your friends/protectors. If you do so, then you are no longer among the Muslims. So, this is not about DNA alone. We need to understand what this DNA actually represents and what their real relationship is…Yes, there is something in common. But the Maulvi Sahib became emotional and ended up saying more than he should have, believing they were somehow very close. No—what is common is their DNA in that sense,” he said.
“The real relationship between the Indian BJP or RSS and the Taliban regime is that of a master and a slave. The oppressive system in India is their master, and they are its servants. What is the RSS doing? What is this so-called Hindu Rashtra doing? It is oppressing Muslims, oppressing Kashmiris, committing injustice. And what are they doing? They are serving that agenda even more than them. What kind of Islam is this? They are doing an even greater disservice,” said Chaudhry.
WHAT THE REMARKS MEAN
According to top intelligence sources, the comments are being interpreted as part of a broader attempt to shift focus from Pakistan’s internal security challenges, including rising militant violence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, as well as concerns over the security of China-backed CPEC projects.
The sources further maintain that Pakistan has not presented credible international evidence to substantiate its allegations against India and describe such claims as part of a broader narrative aimed at externalizing responsibility for domestic instability.
They also assess that the use of terms such as “Fitna al-Hindustan” serves as a political and legal framing intended to justify action against internal critics while attributing Pakistan’s security challenges to India and Afghanistan.
About the Author
Group Editor, Investigations and Security Affairs, Network18
August 02, 2026, 13:22 IST
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