Pakistan Accuses Taliban Administration of Sheltering Terrorist Networks
Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has accused the Taliban administration of speaking about negotiations and issuing warnings of “retaliatory action” instead of accepting responsibility and acting against armed groups, following a deadly suicide attack on Friday in Kohat.
The Dawn newspaper reported on Sunday, 29 September, that this position was set out in a statement from Pakistan’s information ministry. According to Dawn, Islamabad rejected the Taliban administration’s warning of a possible response if Pakistan carries out military operations inside Afghanistan, and stressed that the Taliban administration must eliminate active terrorist networks.
The reaction came after Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Taliban administration, said in an interview with Al Arabiya that the administration wanted dialogue to resolve tensions with Pakistan. In the same interview, he also warned Pakistan against carrying out military operations inside Afghanistan.
Pakistan linked that warning to Friday’s deadly terrorist attack in Kohat, an assault that targeted civilians and police forces during Friday prayers.
Relations between Pakistan and the Taliban administration have been strained in recent months over what Islamabad describes as Taliban support for anti-Pakistan groups. Kohat is one of the cities in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a region that has repeatedly seen deadly attacks in recent years.
