Pakistan Blames Afghanistan for Deadly Kohat Attack

Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said the roots of the perpetrators of a deadly suicide attack in Kohat, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, are in Afghanistan. The attack took place on Friday at a mosque inside a police compound and left at least 21 people dead and more than 80 injured.

In a statement posted on X late Saturday, September 28, the Pakistani ministry said the attack was carried out by “the lowest of the Kharijites with roots in Afghanistan.” The ministry also claimed that the presence of terrorist safe havens, along with their recruitment and support structures in Afghanistan, poses a direct threat to Pakistan’s security.

The statement said these concerns had previously been conveyed repeatedly to the Taliban administration and its “intermediaries.” However, the Taliban administration has consistently denied Pakistan’s accusations that it shelters and supports groups opposed to Islamabad.

Kohat is one of the cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in northwestern Pakistan, a province that has witnessed deadly attacks repeatedly in recent years, with Pakistani officials blaming Afghanistan in a number of those incidents.