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The Pakistani defense minister alleged that armed terrorist groups are launching attacks on Pakistan from Afghan soil. The Taliban-led government in Afghanistan immediately denied such allegations.
Speaking at a private news channel on Monday, Pakistani defense minister Khwaja Asif said armed groups based in Afghanistan are launching attacks on Pakistan. Asif said they relayed the allegation to the Taliban administration and will continue to make such claims. Asif’s comments follow the National Security Committee meeting at Pakistan’s capital Islamabad with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, military chief General Asim Munir, and other top officials in attendance.
The Pakistani government issued a statement following the NSC meeting, warning “no country will be able to provide sanctuaries to terrorists” and that their attacks “will be dealt with the full force of the state.” While the statement did not mention any country, it was an apparent reference to Afghanistan.
The Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid responded to the allegations, saying that Afghanistan wants good relations with its neighboring countries, including Pakistan.
“The Islamic Emirate is trying its best that the territory of Afghanistan is not used against Pakistan or any other country. We are committed to this goal, but the Pakistani side is also responsible to try controlling the situation, refrain from giving baseless statements and provocative assertions because such statement and mistrust is not in the interest of either side,” said Mujahid.
The back and forth between Afghanistan and Pakistan follow the recent attacks by the Pakistani Taliban, also known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP. The TTP has been waging war on Pakistan for over 10 years, demanding that their hardline interpretation of Islamic law be imposed, as well as the release of its imprisoned members, and the reversal of a merger between Pakistani tribal areas with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
On New Year’s Day Sunday, a Taliban official said several people were killed and wounded at an attack on an airport in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul. Interior ministry spokesman Abdul Nafi Takor said multiple people were left dead and wounded from the blast and that an investigation was launched into the matter.
