US backs Pakistan’s right to defend itself against Taliban administration
The U.S. State Department, in response to recent border tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban administration, said Washington supports Pakistan’s “right to defend itself” against the Taliban administration, a position that comes as rising tensions highlight the security implications of the situation in Afghanistan.
In a response to VOA’s Afghanistan service, the department accused the Taliban administration of failing to live up to its commitments on counterterrorism and said the situation has led to further instability in the region. According to the State Department, terrorist groups are using Afghan territory to organize attacks.
The State Department also stressed that it is important for Washington and the international community that Afghanistan become a country that does not shelter terrorists and remains committed to its international obligations.
The statement came after the Pakistani army on Sunday carried out airstrikes on parts of Kunar and Paktika provinces. Taliban administration officials said civilians, including women and children, were killed in the strikes.
Pakistan, meanwhile, says at least 28 “terrorists” were killed in the operation and that the strikes were carried out in response to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan activity. The Taliban administration has rejected the claim, saying Pakistan should not blame Afghanistan for its own security failures.
Since the Taliban administration returned to power in August 2021, attacks by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan inside Pakistan have increased. Islamabad says the attacks are planned from Afghan soil and that members of the group are sheltered there — a claim the Taliban administration calls baseless.
Following the recent strikes, the Taliban administration’s foreign ministry summoned the acting Pakistani ambassador in Kabul and described the attacks as a violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty. Kunar and Paktika provinces are located in eastern Afghanistan near the border with Pakistan and have repeatedly been the scene of border tensions and similar attacks in recent years.
