Daily Times

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday strongly rebuked Afghanistan for “neglecting its duties as a neighbouring and fraternal country”, and for disregarding vital obligations made in the Doha peace agreement, specifically its commitment to prevent the use of Afghan soil for terrorist activities. In a tweet, the defence minister lashed out at Afghanistan, alleging a failure to uphold its commitments as outlined in the Doha agreement. “Afghanistan is neither fulfilling its obligation as a neighbouring and brotherly country nor safeguarding the peace agreement.”

According to Asif, Pakistan has provided refuge to five to six million Afghan refugees for 40 to 50 years with all their rights intact. However, he added: “Conversely, the terrorists who shed the blood of Pakistanis find refuge on Afghan soil.” The minister cautioned that the ongoing situation could no longer persist. He asserted that Pakistan would employ all possible resources and measures, “with the guidance of Allah, to safeguard its territory and citizens”.

In another tweet, the minister stated that the individuals who attended the assembly during the PTI government and provided briefings to the members, emphasising the advantages of bringing the TTP from Afghanistan to Pakistan, should also communicate with the families of those who become martyrs on a daily basis. He further stated that those individuals were the ones who “introduced Imran Khan in 2018”, leading to the unfortunate events of May 9 that the nation had to endure. “For the subsequent four years, they were responsible for causing immense destruction to our beloved country in every possible aspect.” He prayed to Allah to protect “this sacred land through the sacrifices made by the martyrs.”A day prior, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir had issued a stern warning to the interim Afghan Taliban government over the presence of banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) across the border, saying that recent terrorist attacks would elicit effective response from Pakistan.

A statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that the army chief had voiced serious concerns over “safe havens” of TTP in Afghanistan. “The Armed Forces of Pakistan have serious concerns on the safe havens and liberty of action available to TTP in Afghanistan,” the statement noted.

“It is expected that the interim Afghan Government would not allow the use of its soil to perpetrate terror against any country, in the real sense and in line with commitments made in Doha Agreement,” the army chief was quoted as saying. General Munir revealed that Afghan nationals were involved in recent acts of terrorism in Pakistan.

“The involvement of Afghan nationals in acts of terrorism in Pakistan is another important concern that needs to be addressed,” the army chief said. “Such attacks are intolerable and would elicit effective response from the Security Forces of Pakistan,” he warned.

He further said operations against terrorists would continue unabated and the armed forces shall not rest till the menace of terrorism is rooted out from the country. The army chief’s statement suggested frustration on part of Pakistan due to the lack of cooperation from the Afghan Taliban to tackle the TTP threat.

Meanwhile, the Afghan Taliban spokesperson in a recent statement claimed the interim government was not allowing its soil to be used against any country and that TTP was a problem for Pakistan to deal with.