Islamabad rebuts Kabul's stance on ‘lacking capacity’ to fuel insecurity in Pakistan
The information ministry on Saturday rebutted the Afghan Taliban’s stance that it lacked the “capabilities” to fuel insecurity in other countries and criticised it for resorting to “diversionary allegations” instead of preventing the use of Afghanistan’s soil for terrorist attacks against Pakistan. The ministry’s rebuttal comes after spokesperson for the interim Taliban administration in…
On Saturday, the information ministry in Islamabad rebutted the Afghan Taliban's claim that it lacked the "capabilities" to fuel insecurity in other nations. The ministry criticized the Taliban for using "diversionary allegations" rather than addressing the issue of terrorist attacks from Afghanistan's soil. The ministry's spokesperson noted that Zabiullah Mujahid, the spokesperson for the interim Taliban administration, stated that Afghanistan had no "interest in creating insecurity in Pakistan or supporting acts of instability there."
He also claimed that the Taliban had "no capabilities or resources to foment or finance insecurity in other countries."
The ministry refuted these claims by citing reports from the UN Security Council's Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team and a report submitted to the US Congress. Both reports confirmed the presence and activities of terrorist groups, including the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), in Afghanistan. The UN team's 16th report found that the Taliban continued to allow TTP to operate from Afghan territory, allowing them to carry out increased attacks on Pakistan.
The ministry highlighted that TTP remained the largest group among those operating from Afghanistan, with an estimated strength of 4,000-6,000 fighters.
Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been high in recent years due to concerns over cross-border terrorism. Islamabad has repeatedly carried out calibrated airstrikes in response to terrorist attacks within Pakistan. In March 2023, the Foreign Office strongly rejected former US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad's allegations that Pakistan was "arming Afghans to fight the Taliban."
Khalilzad claimed that Pakistan was "recruiting Afghans to fight against anti-Pakistan insurgents," but the information ministry rejected these baseless allegations, stating that they divert attention from the Taliban's responsibility to prevent its territory from being used by India-sponsored proxies for terrorism against Pakistan.
Written by urgent.news from Dawn - Pakistan's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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