By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has accused the Afghan Taliban of a “persistent refusal to address terrorism”, warning Kabul that it reserves the right to take “all necessary measures” to eliminate threats to its security “wherever they originate”.
The warning, issued by the information ministry on Saturday, was a response to Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban government’s chief spokesperson. He told Hurriyat Radio that “Pakistan does not want to resolve the conflict with Afghanistan through talks” and that Islamabad “lacks the necessary readiness for a peaceful resolution of differences”. Mujahid blamed Pakistan’s “wrong policies” for the impasse and insisted Kabul was not the cause of its neighbour’s counterterrorism problems.
The ministry said his remarks exposed the Taliban’s “deeply misguided approach and unwillingness to confront the root cause of deteriorating relations with Pakistan”.
“The Taliban leadership continues to blame Islamabad’s policies while conveniently ignoring the single most important issue poisoning bilateral relations: its persistent failure to address terrorism emanating from Afghan soil,” the statement said.
Pakistan’s position, it added, was “unequivocal”: terrorism was a red line and the security of its citizens non-negotiable. “The Afghan Taliban regime must understand that Pakistan will not tolerate terrorist sanctuaries across its borders that impact its security nor allow its people to remain targets of terrorism emanating from Afghanistan,” it said.
The ministry said responsibility for dealing with these threats “rests squarely with the Afghan Taliban regime”. “Shifting blame, making hollow assurances and questioning Pakistan’s policies will neither resolve the crisis nor absolve Kabul of its responsibilities,” it said. “Pakistan’s resolve to protect its people must never be mistaken for weakness.”
Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, separately acknowledged Islamabad’s concerns on Saturday, saying Pakistan believed attacks were being sponsored from Afghan territory and that Washington did not want it to become a target of terrorism. He was speaking in Atlanta at the close of a meeting of G20 foreign ministers.
Islamabad has repeatedly urged the Taliban administration to dismantle militant sanctuaries on Afghan soil, particularly those linked to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which Pakistan says are used to plan attacks inside the country. Officials say those appeals have gone unheeded. Attaullah Tarar, the information minister, claimed earlier this month that more than 20,000 terrorists, including 6,000 TTP members, were present in Afghanistan. The Afghan authorities deny allowing their territory to be used for such attacks.
Several rounds of talks last year, facilitated by Qatar and Turkey, failed to yield a workable solution, with the Pakistani government saying the Taliban gave no assurances on the central issues. Efforts this year involving China also ended without a breakthrough.
Pakistan carried out what it called calibrated airstrikes in the border region in September in response to attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Drone incursions from across the border followed, which Islamabad said were shot down, and two more rounds of retaliatory strikes. Clashes continued into October, with security sources saying Pakistani forces responded to unprovoked fire from the Afghan side in Kurram and Angoor Adda in Lower South Waziristan.
The most recent flare-up came on Tuesday night, when Afghan forces opened fire on border posts and residential areas at Angoor Adda. The attack killed one local resident and injured five members of a family, according to Pakistani officials, and damaged shops in the town’s market.
On Wednesday the information ministry said Pakistani forces had destroyed seven Afghan posts and inflicted heavy casualties after Taliban troops fired on civilians. The Taliban-run defence ministry gave a conflicting account, saying Pakistan had launched four drone strikes on border facilities at Angoor Adda, prompting Afghan troops to retaliate. It claimed Pakistani soldiers were killed and denied any Afghan casualties.
Copyright © 2021 Independent Pakistan | All rights reserved
