By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s defense minister on Saturday sharply criticized Afghanistan for “neglecting its duties as a neighboring and fraternal country” and for violating key provisions of the peace deal signed with the Taliban in Doha last year, especially its pledge to prevent the use of Afghan territory for terrorist activities.
The minister accused Afghanistan of failing to stop the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) from using its territory to launch attacks on Pakistani security forces, a day after the army chief expressed serious concerns over the issue.
The minister, Khawaja Asif, issued his statement a day after Pakistan’s military expressed “serious concerns” about the presence and activities of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, a militant group that has waged a bloody insurgency against the Pakistani state for over a decade, in Afghanistan.
The military’s statement came after the army chief General Asim Munir, visited a garrison in Balochistan Province that was attacked by militants on Wednesday, killing nine soldiers. The military said it had killed five attackers in retaliation.
In a series of tweets on Saturday, Asif accused Afghanistan of failing to honor its commitments under the Doha agreement, which paved the way for the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan and set out conditions for intra-Afghan talks to end the war.
“Afghanistan is neither fulfilling its obligation as a neighboring and brotherly country nor safeguarding the peace agreement,” Asif wrote.
He said Pakistan had hosted millions of Afghan refugees for decades and granted them all their rights, while “on the contrary, the terrorists who shed the blood of Pakistanis find refuge on Afghan soil.”
Asif warned that the situation could not continue and that Pakistan would use all possible means and measures, “with the guidance of Allah, to safeguard its territory and citizens.”
Asif also took a swipe at some ‘individuals’ who had attended a parliamentary session during the previous government of Prime Minister Imran Khan and briefed the lawmakers on the benefits of bringing the TTP from Afghanistan to Pakistan.
He said those individuals were also responsible for “introducing Imran Khan in 2018,” leading to the controversial events of May 9 this year and caused immense damage to the country in every aspect.
“For the next four years, they were responsible for causing immense destruction to our beloved country in every possible aspect,” Mr. Asif said. He prayed to Allah to protect “this sacred land through the sacrifices made by the martyrs.”
Pakistan has seen a surge in terrorist attacks, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces, after the ceasefire between the government and the TTP collapsed in November last year.
Besides the attack on the garrison in Zhob district, militants also targeted security forces in Sui district of Balochistan on Thursday, killing three soldiers who fought bravely during the exchange of fire. Two militants were killed in the operation.
The combined loss of 12 soldiers from these attacks marks the highest single-day death toll reported by the military from terrorist incidents this year.
A Taliban spokesperson in Qatar, Suhail Shaheen, told Dawn newspaper that Kabul was committed not to allow anyone to use the soil of Afghanistan against any other country.
“We have made it clear time and again that we are committed not to allow anyone to use the soil of Afghanistan against any other country because stability in the region and in Afghanistan is essential as we are intending to make Afghanistan hub of regional trade and prosperity,” he said.
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