Taliban envoy rejects Pakistani military action inside Afghanistan
Sardar Ahmad Shakib, the Taliban administration’s representative in Pakistan, said Islamabad should not use its own security concerns as a basis for military action on Afghan soil, and that if it has any such claims, it should share specific information.
Speaking on Tuesday at the National Defence University in Islamabad, he said the Taliban administration continues to stand by its position that Afghan territory is not being used against Pakistan. Kabul, he said, also expects Pakistan to engage directly with Afghanistan over its security concerns.
Shakib said Afghanistan and Pakistan, because of their proximity, social ties, trade, transit and security issues, have a strong influence on each other. He described relations between the two countries as both a challenge and an opportunity for regional stability and economic cooperation.
The Taliban administration’s representative also said claims related to security threats originating from Afghanistan must be specific, documented and accompanied by details of the people, networks and incidents in question. He added that if Pakistan wants Afghanistan’s cooperation on security concerns, Kabul also wants direct engagement from Islamabad over its own concerns.
He went on to call for continued dialogue and cooperation between the two countries, saying that without constructive engagement, it will be difficult to address security, political and economic challenges.
Pakistan and Afghanistan share a long and tense border, and relations between the two sides have repeatedly been affected in recent years by mutual security accusations. Islamabad has on several occasions claimed that threats to the country are coming from Afghan territory, accusations that Taliban administration officials have repeatedly denied.
