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May 10, 2024
Islamabad, Kabul Embroil in Fresh War of Words
Islamabad: Islamabad and Kabul engaged in a fresh round of a war of words on Thursday as the Foreign Office (FO) dismissed the latest charge by Afghanistan that the Da’ish terrorist group was operating from Pakistan.
On Monday, DG ISPR Major General Ahmed Sharif issued a fresh charge sheet against the Taliban government, accusing them of not doing enough to stop the cross-border terrorist attacks being perpetrated by the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The chief military spokesperson also formally confirmed for the first time that the March 26 terrorist attack targeting Chinese engineers in Besham had links to Afghanistan.
The Afghan Defense Ministry rejected the Pakistani statement and instead blamed Islamabad for supporting Daesh.
At a weekly news briefing, the FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch reiterated Pakistan’s stance that there was enough evidence to suggest a link between recent terrorist incidents and Afghanistan.
“You must have seen the statement made by ISPR in which it was very clearly elaborated that we have evidence of the involvement of Afghan nationals in terrorist attacks inside Pakistan,” the spokesperson said.
“We have also found evidence that the attack in Besham has links with terrorists currently residing inside Afghanistan. The suicide bombing, as said by DG ISPR, connects to across the border. The planning of this terrorist attack took place in Afghanistan, and the terrorists and their facilitators were being controlled from Afghanistan,” she explained.
She added that Pakistan expected the Afghan authorities to take effective measures against these terrorist entities. “With such effective measures, they should be able to demonstrate that these terror groups do not have sanctuaries and hideouts inside Afghanistan.”
She said that Pakistan would share evidence with the Afghan authorities once comprehensive information and intelligence data from the law enforcement agencies were available.
“You would realize that there are several channels of communication between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Our respective embassies are one channel, but there are other channels, including in the security domain, through which Pakistan exchanges information and its concerns related to these terror groups. We have been calling on the Afghan authorities to take effective action against TTP and other related terror groups.”
However, she rejected Afghan allegations about Da’ish, terming them “unwarranted and irresponsible.”
“Instead of such irresponsible statements, the Afghan authorities should take effective action against all terror groups based in Afghanistan,” the spokesperson stressed.
The relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan has remained tense for months over the lack of action against the TTP by the Taliban government. – The Express Tribune
Courtesy The Express Tribune
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