An Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman on Monday called the statement of Pakistani Information Minister Sheikh Rashid saying Pashtuns in Afghanistan were being ignored despite being in majority an interference in Afghanistan's internal affairs, Pajhwok Afghan News reported. It said Sheikh Rashid had made the statement on Sunday. Pajhwok Afghan News quoted spokesman Naveed Maez as saying Sheikh Rashid's remarks were a direct interference in the internal affairs of Afghanistan. "'Such statements will harm relations between both countries', Maez said, advising Pakistani officials to strengthen relations between both countries," it reported. It quoted Mohammad Hassan Wolasmal, chief editor of Afghan National Journal, as saying that although Pashtuns had been discriminated against, the issue was an internal problem of Afghanistan.