Taliban Says Pakistan Is Trying to Impose Its Demands Over Armed Groups
The Taliban administration has described Pakistan’s request to curb armed groups as an attempt to impose Islamabad’s demands.
Zia Ahmad Takal, head of public relations at the Taliban-run Foreign Ministry, said Pakistan’s call to stop armed groups from operating from Afghan soil was an effort to impose Islamabad’s wishes, adding that the administration would not allow Afghan territory to be used against Pakistan or any other country.
The reaction came after Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar, speaking at an ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting in Manila, asked the Taliban administration to guarantee that Afghan soil would not be used for the activities of armed groups against regional countries, especially Pakistan.
Dar had said that implementing these commitments could create the basis for trade and regional connectivity between South Asia and Central Asia. He also called on the Taliban administration to take practical steps to stop the activities of groups, including the Pakistani Taliban, in Afghanistan.
In recent months, Pakistan has repeatedly claimed that armed groups opposed to Islamabad have taken refuge in Afghanistan and are directing attacks against Pakistan from there. The Taliban administration has rejected those accusations, saying it does not allow Afghan soil to be used against any country.
Dar had previously also claimed at an Organization of Islamic Cooperation meeting in New York that more than 20 terrorist groups were present in Afghanistan, and called for verifiable measures to prevent the use of the country’s territory against its neighbours. These accusations and demands have become one of the main points of dispute between Islamabad and the Taliban administration.
